Irresistible
by PercyFosterMellark
Summary: I always knew that I have bad luck. And once I started to care about somebody that wasn't my sister? They'd leave. Like my Ex-girlfriend. To be honest, I never thought I would ever get over her. But that was before I met Callie Jacob. And how she proved how wrong I was. Some people are just Irresistible.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Brandon, and my wrists ache, not as much as my jaw, where I had just gotten punched a few minutes before. I bring my hands to the spot, wanting the numbness to go away. It hurt, but I'll live. I've had a lot worse.

"You okay there, kid?" One of the guards ask, poking me with the butt of his gun as if to tell me to walk faster. "You got hit pretty hard."

I grumble a few things to myself, things that would probably land me here for another week, but I stop suddenly. "Why do I have to wear these?" I demand, my anger only growing.

"Because you do," A different guard tells me, pushing me in the direction I should be walking in. "Maybe you should have thought about it before you go into a fight." He says, and I remember how he just stood there, watching as three guys came up too me. I was nice enough to try to walk away. But it just went downhill from there.

"That wasn't my fault!" I tell him, turning away from him. I am tired of all on these snobby guards. I'm just a sixteen year old. What is the worst thing I can do? "It's not my fault that some people here are jealous bastards."

"That kid has been here longer than you, you'd be jealous to, wouldn't you?" The nicer one says, and I can hear him playing with his keys. My wrists start to ache again, and I shake my head as the other guard, the one who needed to work on his patience pushes me again.

"I wouldn't. I'd let his sorry ass rot in that cell, you know. I wasn't dealing with drugs that got me in here. I'm probably the only safe teenager here." I tell them, knowing that it would only annoy them even more.

"You beat up your foster brother for no reason, kid. I'd say you're one of the most dangerous teenager here."

I raise an eyebrow questionably even though they couldn't see me. "So you're saying that you're scared of me?"

"I'm saying that you have anger problems, kid. You put him in the hospital when you were done with him."

I feel anger, and I restrain against the handcuffs, only to have pain shoot up my arms, and I grit my teeth. "That asshole deserved it! He raped my sister! I was protecting her!" At the sudden memory of why I've even ended up in juvie, I remember that I haven't seen my sister in almost a year. I left her alone for a year with that bastard of a foster brother. "My sister! Is she okay? I want to see her! She's not at that house anymore, is she? Tell me she's safe. You can let me rot in that cage for all I fucking care, just tell me she's safe!"

"We don't know anything about your sister, kid. All we know is that you're getting out today and that you're going to a safe place, hopefully, kid."

"I'm not a kid," I spit out, shaking my head at them. Do they really think that I'm a kid? I'm far from a kid. I know how to take care of myself. I've been doing it my entire life. "I can take care of myself! I don't need anybody, like you petty people do."

Suddenly, the guard, who was taller than the nicer one slams the butt of his gun into my jaw, causing me to fall over, and I have to shake my head a few times to clear it. _Bastard_. I think, as I hear the two guards fighting as I lean against the wall, ignoring the new pain shooting up my jaw. I already have a black eye, too. It wasn't going to make a difference.

I force myself to get to my feet, using the wall to help me, even though my brain is still foggy. "Un cuff me!" I demand, holding out my hands too the shorter, nicer guard, knowing that he would. "Now! I'm not just some boxing bag, you know!" I tell the older one, who grips his gun so hard that his knuckles turn white.

"How 'bout you shut your wise ass, kid. It doesn't matter if you can take care of yourself, punk- you're still a kid. You're only sixteen."

"Says the guard who takes advantages of a minor," I spit out, not breaking from his cold, harsh stare. "I know more than you think, so why don't you shut you-"

The younger guard steps between us, his hand on my chest. "Both of you stop talking! You're only making things worse, which means the more time you two get to deal with each other!" His voice is softer as he pulls a key out of the many on his keychain, taking my wrists, and unlock the cuffs. "There you go, kid."

I rub my wrists, and ignore his comment. "Where you gonna put me this time? A group home?" I ask, and it's a simple question, after all, I'm probably on the 'dangerous' list in The Foster system. Group Homes are when all of the those kids go, and they don't get second chances, no chance to get fostered or adopted by people who wanted kids.

"A place where you learn your god dammed lesson," the older guard says roughly, opening the front door, shoving a small bag of clothes they probably packed for me into my arms. "See you soon, kid." He growls sharply as the door close behind me, and I'm greeted by sunlight and Bill, a short pudgy man, holding his folder so I can see _Child Services _slapped down on the front.

"Brandon! What happened? Are you okay?" I try not to roll my eyes, Bill was just doing his job; pretending to care about what happened to my face, and I don't answer. I only talked to the guards because they had no problem acting like they didn't care. It is something I'm used to. I look down at my worn out Nikes, only to realize that Bill was looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"I got in a fight," I mumble, running one of my hands through my hair that clearly needed a hair cut. "Where's my sister?"

Bill ignores my question, just like I expected and he pulls my arm roughly, leading me to a woman. She's staring at me, but I don't mind, I don't care. All I care about is finding my younger sister, Sarah. "I need to see Sarah," I tell Bill, ready to yell at him if I have to. "Just let me talk to her, at least." I say pleadingly, I have to make sure she's okay. I haven't seen her in a freakin' year, and Bill hasn't even answer my questions about her.

The woman, who has a dark skin is still looking at me, then to Bill, then to me again, and her eyes meet mine. "It's only for a few weeks, right?" I have the feeling that it's not the first time she've said that, judging by the look on her face, how she looked sorry for me.

A few minutes later, I was following the woman to her car, told to put my bag in the trunk, and to sit in the shotgun seat as she leans against the drivers door, on the phone, clearly unhappy about something, and that something was probably me. She suddenly opens the door, startling me, but she doesn't tell.

"I'm Lena," The woman offers, starting the car stiffly, sneaking glances at me, and probably the bruises on my face. "I'll be your foster mother for a while, Brandon. That's your name, isn't it?"

I nod, not wanting to offer her anything else. A long time ago, I promised myself to never trust people, and it's worked so far. It just made it easier to get Sarah and I out of a bad foster house.

I can hear her mutter to herself, "Well, we're up to a great start," I don't tell her that I can hear her, instead, I just watch the road zip by. "At home, there's four other kids, Brandon. I think you'll get along with them just fine. Jude, he's 12, he's quite curious sometimes, so apologies if he asks you any uncomfortable questions. We adopted him about two months ago. Then there's Jesus and Mariana, they are twins, Me and Stef, my partner adopted them five years ago. They are 15, close to your age. We have a daughter named Callie, and she's your age. She is Jude's biological sister."

_Callie_. Her name sound familiar.

"What about her?" I ask, my voice raspy for some reason, and I clear my throat.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that Jude and Callie are biologically related. How come you didn't adopt her too?"

Lena hands grip the steering wheel tightly, and her knuckles turn white, and she doesn't answer my question, just simply changes the topic. "We're almost home. You won't meet any of the kids now because they are at school. They all go to Anchor Beach, and I am the assistant principle."

_Great_, I think, pressing my fingers to my jaw again, only to pull them away covered in blood. _Just more rules for me. _Lena parks in a driveway, which was no doubt her house, when she looks over at me, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright?" She asks, her hand already moving towards my face, and even though it's a caring gesture, I flinch, expecting her to hit me. Her hand falls limply at her side, and she mutters a quick apology, and gets out of the car, and I grab the bag that was probably full of too small clothes, and follow her, trailing a few feet behind her.

The house is nice, sneakers litter the floor by the front door, there's a pile of video games by the tv, there's a few decorations, like they are afraid that of there's anymore, they'll break. My eyes linger on the piano in the corner of the living room, and it brings memories flooding into my mind.

All of the lessons I got from my father.

I have to shake my head a few times to clear my head from the memories of my father before our family started falling apart. Before my dad got drunk that night and lost all control. I can hear Lena calling me, but I don't answer her, and I only hear my father talking to me happily.

_"So, how was school today?"_

_"Good!"_

_My father had laughed at how happy I was. "How about we play some piano today?"_

_I nodded eagerly before announcing that I have remembered all of the notes, which only caused his smile to widen as my mother sat on the couch a few feet behind us, watching. _

"Brandon?" Lena voice cuts through them like a knife. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

I shake my head again, trying to bring myself to reality before I answer her stiffly. "I'm fine. Just tired."

Lena nods understandably, and takes the bag out of my hands. "I had a short notice about you, so I'm sorry, but until me and Stef work out what we want to do, you'll have to sleep on the couch."

"That's great," I answer, licking my dry lips, and taste some blood from where it was cracked. "I'd usually sleep on the floor in the garage."

Lena looks up at me, a small look if shock on her face, almost as if she doesn't believe me. But when her eyes meet mine, I can tell she knows I am telling the truth. "Why don't we go to the kitchen? They kids will be home soon, so I'll have to start dinner, they're usually starving on Fridays after school."

I don't want to follow Lena into the kitchen, I want to find Sarah. I don't want to find her, I have to find her. I won't be able to go a few more days without knowing where she is. Maybe she got kicked out of the house like I did and is in a good house where they care about her and are planing to adopt her. Maybe. Even though I don't want too, I follow Lena and sit on one of the stools, realizing how tired I really am, with my body aching, and my jaw throbbing.

I watch Lena as walks around the kitchen, cooking something I didn't recognize. It would certainly beat prison food, for sure. I hear the front door open, and look over at it, and see kids pilling into the house, kicking off their shoes, talking about something. Two boys and two girls. One of the girls look at me, and her brown eyes meet mine, and they seem familiar. I blink and look away, and she goes back to talking to the shorter girl.

The younger boy, who I figured is Jude doesn't ask a single question as all of them pile into the kitchen, asking Lena questions. I can hear them asking what's for dinner, or if they're doing anything this weekend, and a few quite whispers about me. Lena, ignoring all of their questions, commanding them to sit down and be quite while she finishes cooking.

It seems natural the way they all sit down at the same time, small talk already among them. One of the girls sit next to me, the one who noticed me when they got home. "I'm Callie," She offers, her brown eyes meeting mine again, and I nod quietly. I hear her sigh before she tried again, "Do you want a drink? Or an ice pa-"

"Got in a fight?" I turn my head to look at who it came from, and Callie and Lena scold him. "Jesus!" I don't answer his question, but I can tell they are all staring at me, waiting for my response, but all I can think about his how familiar Callie's voice is. It's the one I've heard everyday when I was locked up in that cell.

_"It's okay. I know what it feels like. To be thrown around. Wondering why all of this shit is happening to you, wondering why the people who were supposed to love you the most didn't." _

It was the day I thrown into the back of the police car. The day Liam called the cops on me. I remember pleading the cop to give me one more chance, telling him that I was just trying to protect my sister from him. It was the day Sarah had told me what he did to her, and I just lost it. He cuffed me quickly, throwing me into the back of his car where a girl and boy were sitting, and the cop was telling them to get away from me, that I was dangerous.

* * *

The girl completely ignored him, looking at me. "What's your name?"

"B-Brandon." I told her, not knowing what else to do, besides answer her question.

"What happened?" She asked me, her eyes meeting mine. When I don't answer her, she goes on, "It's okay. I know what it's like. It's okay. I know what it feels like. To be thrown around. Wondering why all of this shit is happening to you, wondering why the people who were supposed to love you the most didn't."

"I got in a fight with my foster brother," I tell her, believing every word she told me. "He raped my sister. Now I'm stuck in this car on my way to juvie because I was protecting her."

I watched as she tensed up when I told her that, and figured out that the same thing happened to her. "It's happened to me too," She whispered. "I was protecting my brother. My foster father called the cops... Told them I just went crazy. Nobody cared about my side of the story."

"What's it like?" I ask. "It's my first time."

"Depends on how you act."

I nodded, and looked away from her, but I could feel her staring at me. "What?" I spit.

"I'm sorry. I wish.. I wish there was something I could do. I know you're hoping somebody'll come get you, but they don't care."

"I want a kiss," I blurt, and the cop in front started yelling at the girl, telling her to stop talking to me, to act like I'm not here, but her eyes meet mine again. She looked confused, and I went on, "I doubt I'll get out anytime soon.. besides, it's not everyday when I see a pretty girl. I know it's stupid, bu-"

She crashed her lips onto mine, cutting me off, like she doesn't care that I wanted to kiss her. She kissed me longer than I thought she would, and when she pulled away, I wanted to kiss her back. "W-What's your name?" I ask as the cop pulls up to a parking spot in front of my hell for the next year. But this girl, the one I would only see this once, made it seem like it wasn't going to be that bad. And maybe it won't. I'm not the one who did anything wrong. I was just the one who got blamed for it.

"Callie," Her face showed even more confusion, probably wondering why she kissed me, a small frown on her face, and she shakes her head a little. "I'm Callie Jacob."

I got pulled out of the car after that.


	2. Chapter 2

Callie's and Lena voices are pulling me back to reality quickly, Callie getting up to get me an ice pack, even though I told her I didn't need one, and Lena is telling Jesus to say sorry to me, for asking such a question. But I don't mind about the question, it didn't bother me. To be honest, I am kinda thankful that he asked the question because I know it was on everybody's mind. And Callie, well, I know it was her. She looked older, obviously, and healthier. And happier, so I guessing that this is a safe place, for now at least. Lena and Callie are surprised when I talk, grabbing Callie's small wrist in my hand, stoping her. "I don't need an ice pack," I say through gritted teeth, keeping myself from flinching. "I'm fine. For now at least."

Callie pulls her wrist out of my hand, rubbing it as she sits down, and I know I grabbed it too hard. Everybody is looking at me, and I can tell that Jesus is still waiting for an answer, ignoring the fact that Callie and Lena both just yelled at him for asking me such a question. I lean forward, resting my elbows on the table in front of me, look at him before I answer him. "You never fight somebody for no reason, okay?" I say. "Not like those kids who started it. The only time you're aloud to fight is if you're protecting yourself or somebody you care about, alright. So wipe that smirk off of your face like it's something to laugh about, 'cause it's not."

Jesus smirk disappears, and he swallows tightly before muttering a sorry, but I ignore it, looking at Callie, who is staring at me. A small frown is back on her face as she looks at me confused, then turns her attention to Lena when my eyes meet hers, and I watch her carefully as she stands up, probably to help Lena finish cooking. By her movements, I can tell that I made her uncomfortable, how she won't even look in my direction anymore, or how she tries to avoid coming near me as much as she can. And before she does sit down again, she hands me an ice pack, and this time I take it from her.

"Thanks," I mutter, bringing it up to my jaw, and she nods silently watching me. "What?" I ask, and I don't mean for it to sound so harsh and cold, but it does, and it doesn't seem to startle her, because a small humourless smile creeps onto her face.

"You're bleeding again," She informs me, a wet cloth already in her hands. "Are you sure you don't want some Advil?" She asks when she notices my pained expression as I bring my fingers up to the spot.

"I'm fine," I grumble, pressing the icepack to it again, thankful that she did get it for me. "I don't need it just because it hurts."

"At least let me clean it," Callie says, her eyes meeting mine again, before she gently takes my hand, which is much warmer than mine, her hand is small compared to mine. Callie's hand isn't just warm, it seems to leave trails of fire on it, and I don't pull away from her when she starts cleaning the cut on my jaw. "It looks a little bit better. It doesn't look as deep."

I nod, not sure of what to say. Well, I knew what I wanted to say, I just couldn't say it here, or at least if don't want to. Not with everybody watching us, and listening carefully to every word we say, even if they try to busy themselves with something else. "Thanks," I mutter, looking away from Callie, staring at the counter. "Thanks, Callie."

Callie doesn't respond, just nods, and starts to help Lena finish making dinner. I look up when I hear the door open, and it see a blonde woman in a police officer come in, and I mentally groan to myself. I am never going to make it here, not with everybody watching me like hawks, and now there's a police officer to add to list, and Lena is probably have me going to her school by Monday. That only adds about 300 kids and all of my teachers watching me like I'm a murder.

But I also have a feeling that Callie will somehow make it better, seeing that she's still here, adopted since the last time I've seen her. I haven't noticed that I was watching the cop until she's talking to me. "I'm Stef," She offers me, getting herself a cup of coffee and she offers me her hand, and I end up talking it, not wanting to get on her bad side. "I'm Lena's partner, and you are?"

"Brandon," I tell her, letting go of her cold hand, making a mental note to myself to never get on her bad side, I could only imagine her yelling at me to get down and give her 20. "I'm Brandon."

"It's very nice to meet you, Brandon," Stef tells me, looking at me carefully, and I want to leave the kitchen and go anywhere, to get away from her stare. "We're sorry that you have to sleep on the couch tonight, we got a short notice on you."

"Beats a garage floor," I say, shrugging, and my comment doesn't seem to surprise her like it did with Lena. If anything, it's probably the least worst thing on everything she've seen, being a cop and everything.

Stef only nods, before saying anything at all. "It's wonderful that you feel that way, Brandon, because you'll be sleeping on the couch for a few days, bud."

I want to tell Stef to not call me bud, because it bothers me, but I brush it off, reminding myself that I have Sarah to think about, and I remember what happened the last time I let us stay in a bad house longer than we should have, I ended up in juive for protecting her, and nobody, well, they didn't give a damn about my side of the story, not even my case managers, who just to them to lock me up.

Leading to the fact that I know Callie, and that I'm already so tired of life. Somedays I just wish everything with my parents was back to normal and that I can be a normal kid again, not a sixteen year old kid who gets passed from house to house, waking up to the same thing everyday. Hate.

No matter what I did, that was all that I seemed to get. I accidentally dropped a plate, I'd get smacked. I'd get sick, no food for a few days. I didn't answer a question, I'd get shoved into a dog cage. Or just comments that were true, I am just a foster kid. My mother decided to kick me and Sarah out of her house because drugs are so much better than her children. I remember feeling the same pain my mother did the day our father died. My sister was too young to understand. But I remember standing behind my mother the night she opened our front door, where two Army Men were standing. I don't remember their names, or their rankings, I just remember seeing the usual uniform, and how my mother didn't cry when they told her. Or when they handed her the paper of his wounds. Or when they handed her his medals that were cleaned from any of his blood.

She had closed the door, saying a quite thank you and almost lock herself in her study, where she always edited there people books. I can't remember which on it was at the time. She didn't know I was in the room, clutching the only picture of him I had left, besides the framed one she put face down. After a few minutes of staring in the air blankly, she completely broke down, burying her face in her hands as her body was taken over by pain. No, she couldn't control it, she didn't fight, and look for serving better. Instead she kept thinking of the worst, and eventually her pain had gotten to the point where she didn't feel it anymore, but it was always with her, effecting her. When it had gotten to that point, I had manage to get my hands on the paper that described his wounds. The ones that killed him.

The last time he came back, he had a scar on his arm from a pice of shrapnel that went two inches deep on a mission. I was eight when I read them. Old enough to understand that I would never see him again. Too young to understand why or how. Too young to understand that he didn't have a choice. Reading them and seeing the pictures only made it worse. He was in the wrong place are the wrong time. I remember his first wound was in his leg, where he was stabbed from hand to hand combat. Then as he managed to get out of the house, he was shot twice in the chest. His left lung collapsed at the concat of the first bullet. The second bullet, well, it nearly missed his heart. They managed to get him back to the headquarters. He died from losing too much blood.

"You okay?" I hear Callie ask, and I thought about snapping at her, and I almost did, but she's staring at me, making me uncomfortable, and she already put a plate of food in front of me.

"Yeah," I mumble, looking away from her. "I'm fine." Everybody is watching me closely, but by now it's normal for me. And in this house, I doubt that they would not stop staring for a while, no matter how used they are to new kids coming. Jesus is the first one who starts eating like everything is normal, and I almost sigh in relief when his actions make everybody else start eating.

Dinner passes by quicker than I thought, and the next thing I know is that Stef and Lena are pushing all of us out of the kitchen, and it's just me and Callie. Everybody else went to their rooms.

"I- Uh, I'm going to my room. You can come if you want?" Callie stutters, and her invitation comes out more like a question, and she bites her bottom lip as she waits for my response.

I rub the back of my neck awkwardly, not sure of how to react. Most people would never offer jome to their room, much less a girl like Callie, I guess my looks always affected it. Most of the time I got moved, it's because I got in a fight, and there'll always be a bruise or a busted lip. "You won't mind?" I ask, and she shrugs.

So when she starts up the stairszw, I follow mher to her room. Her room is clean, all of her schoolwork shoved into a corner on her dresser, a few pictures of the rest of them are on it too, as I'm looking at them, I see a picture of her with a woman that wasn't Lena or Stef.

"Who's this?" I ask, and she looks at the picture I saw, the one on that's now in my hand. I look at it carefully. Obviously it, it means a lot to her, so I'm careful to not damage it anymore than the burnt edges.

"That's my birth mom." She says simply, sitting on her bed, grabbing her book off the nightstand, and I pick up the guitar in the corner, and plays a G cord.

"You play?" She asks me, peeking over her book, and I shrug.

"Not really," I answer, putting the picture back in it's corner. "I'm more of a piano person. I got it from my dad, but he taught me some guitar too. He died before he taught me all of it." I tell her, shrugging, and she's staring at me in shock. I know I surprised her by acting so careless about my fathers death, I want to tell her how much I need him, tell her how much that I miss him and wish that I could've been the one dead instead of him. But I can't do that. I don't know her. She's not Lou.

Callie mouth is open, but she shakes her head, trying to get over her shock. "I can teach you the rest of you want." She offers, still staring at me, her brown eyes growing softer, less guarded.

"No, it's okay," I tell her, sitting on the edge of her bed, holding the guitar out to her. "But I want to hear you play it."

Callie sighs, and sits up, taking the guitar from my hands. And I watch her as she expertly strums a string lightly, the sound of it barely reaching my ears. It reminds me of how gentle my father was when ever he tried to teach me.

"Is that a G cord?" I ask, not even thinking it through, not thinking about what her reaction would be. Most people ignore me. Some are scared.

"Yeah, it is," Callie says, acting like it's nothing. "Your dad taught you more than you think."

"Just simple notes." I say, shrugging, running my hands through my hair, a sharp pain shooting up my side, and I flinch, not expecting it.

Callie's eyes show concern, probably at my discomfort. "Do you want me to go downstairs and get you an ice pack?"

I shake my head a little too quickly, and she raises her eyebrow. "I'm fine, trust me. People only go for my face because they're jealous of my great looks."

Callie drops it, even though I can tell she wants to say something else. She gives me a small smile before she looks back down at her guitar, but I can tell by the way she moves, she's afraid that it might hurt me.

I find myself watching her in a way that makes me uncomfortable. The way her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, probably to keep her curls out of her face, the outline of her nose, how her shoulders slump forward like she'd just lost an argument.

I watch her play the guitar, and I wonder why she keeps it in the lonely corner, she's a lot better at it than she let on. I thought that by the way she talked about it, it was just like a childhood thing, something that she just wanted to forget about.

My side starts to bother me again, and I wince. Callie sees, and stops playing. "Are you sure that you don't want an ice pack?"

I force myself to nod. "Where's the bathroom?" I ask, and Callie seems to be confused by my sudden question.

"Across the hall."

I mumble a quick thank you before I leave her alone, the pain in my side getting stronger. When I get to the bathroom, I pull my shirt over my head, revealing the bruise on my side. I touch it gently, which was a bad choice. I take a deep breath, and stare at it. Of course I have to be the poor kid at this house. The guy people are scared of. The door flies open, and I see Mariana in the door way.

"S-sorry!" She nervously stutters, a look of surprise on her face, but she's staring at me, her eyes falling to my stomach, probably not even noticing the bruise.

I think about saying something about knocking, but I just smirk at her as I pull my shirt back over my head.

* * *

I was 'asleep' when I heard Stef and Lena talking in the kitchen. I had decided that it was time for me to go to bed, so like Stef and Lena said, I was sleeping on the couch. Not that it wasn't comfortable, I just can't fall asleep. I can hear them talking, not in hushed voices, thinking that I'm asleep. I think Stef is the one talking, and I know they're going through my file.

"He's so much like Callie," I hear her say, and I can imagine her grabbing her cup of coffee. "A year in juive after protecting his younger sister. A few months before that he just go out after he was caught shoplifting food. It says here that he said his sister was starving," I hear her sigh. "Lena, we can't have him here. He's too dangerous. He put his foster brother in the hospital, he got into a fight before he got here. Do you really think that this a good choice?"

Lena is quite for a few seconds before I hear her answer Stef. "Callie was like him, Stef. It's obvious that he doesn't trust any of us. It's clear that him and his sister haven't had the best past. Of course I think this is a good choice. The foster system messes some of these kids up, Stef. You know that better than anybody else. Why would we want to make him to feel like the world is against him?"

That is a question I would like to know the answer to, Lena. And I hope that I'll figure it out soon.


	3. Chapter 3

I spend the night tossing and turning, thinking about what I overheard between Stef and Lena. I'm a lot like Callie? I can't see her as a girl who went to juvie. Just from what I've seen of her so far, her personality throws off the idea of her going to juvie. To me, she's too kind, too gentle.

Too innocent.

Callie doesn't seem to be like a girl who gets in trouble here, much less than with the cops. It suddenly makes me want to know more about her.

I get it's towards Jude or somebody she knows, when she seems to let them reason with her, but towards me? Callie has been kind, more than I expect. But if she knows my past, that would change, right? It always does. My foster parents read my file? Out the door we go.

I think about her motions near me. They certainly weren't as comfortable as they could have been. She seemed to be constantly worried about me, as if I was going to hurt myself or she was going to hurt me.

Callie locked behind bars?

The idea makes me want to puke, I get it that people change. But it's not a big change. Actually, it is not at a change at all. People act differently around other people. I bet you that Mariana or whatever her name is acts different around her friends than she would here. We all do that. It doesn't really mean we change, I think it just means that we're able to know what's right and what's wrong around certain people.

Which leads to Lena's wonderful question of the day. "Why would we want to make him to feel like the world is against him?"

Yeah, I do feel like that sometimes. No, not some times, most of the time. I've gotten so used to it, I usually don't react to it when something happens to make me feel that way. I think that's one of the worst ways to live, to not have any emotion towards something because you're so used to it. It makes me feel like I'm a heartless person, but I do care about people and things. Not a lot, but I still do. That counts right? Maybe I don't care about a lot of people, but I still have a heart, right?

I close my eyes, telling myself that I should go to bed, get some sleep before Stef or Lena wake me up for school. I need the sleep anyways. Sleeping on those beds weren't very comfortable. And for now, I know this is a safe house, so I won't have to worry about that. Getting hurt here is probably the least thing I have to worry about.

After a few minutes of not being able to fall asleep, I know that I won't be able to fall asleep tonight, but I have nothing to do to past time. Maybe I should have taken Stef's offer for me to take a shower. It's not to late to do that, even if they are asleep.

Or I could go to Callie.

I shake that thought out of my head. Why would I go to Callie? It's not like I need her. Callie wouldn't even let me in her room this late anyways, I know that for a fact. And I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend.

I settle for getting myself a cup of water. All the lights are off, so I'm surprised when I see somebody in the kitchen already, but I decide to ignore them, it's not like they know that I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way.

Then I realize that it is Callie. "You should be in bed." I say, and she jumps, looking at me.

"So should you," Callie grumbles, and I notice that she's gripping the counter hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "Besides, it's my house."

I nod, ignoring the pain that is still in my side. "I didn't mean to scare you," I murmur, and she looks at me if she's surprised. "You okay?"

Callie doesn't answer me, but she nods, running her fingers through her hair. But she's still shaken up, not meeting my eyes.

"You're sure that you're okay?" I ask, and I know I surprised her even more.

"I don't see why you would care."

I lose my patience of trying to be nice. Or caring towards Callie. I'll never be able too. "Sorry for trying to care! Look, Callie you could be thankful that I'm even trying here!"

Callie looks at me in shock, her mouth slightly open, and I know she's trying to think of something to say. "What difference does it make? You're still going to be you."

I am angered by her words, and I clench my jaw to refrain from saying anything to her. A few hours ago, she's easy to get along with and now she's acting like a bitch.

"You know nothing about me," I tell her through gritted teeth, stepping closer to her, and she backs up against the counter, and I rest my hands on the counter at her sides. "Don't talk about me like that, understand?"

Callie doesn't answer as she pushes past me, and I sigh. So much for trying to get along with her. I just had to get mad at her for no reason. I think about trying to apologize to her, but I can't bring myself to do it. But I should apologize to Callie. Because of one simple thing.

She's right.

I'm never going to change. I'm always going to be that foster kid that nobody cares about. I'm always going to be getting in trouble, no matter what I was trying to do. If it was protecting somebody I cared about or if I was actually trying to do something good.

* * *

When I wake up, Stef is hovering over me, shaking my shoulder, holding a cup of coffee. "I woke you up early so you can take a shower before everybody wakes up, so hurry up."

I groan, and I notice that she's in her uniform, and I take the clothes that she was offering me. "Thank you." I say, just to be nice.

Stef just nods stiffly before walking into the kitchen, and I run my fingers through my hair, looking at the clothes she gave me. A dark tee shirt with jeans.

I go up stairs and turn on the water, peeling my dirty clothes off of me, and the bruise on my side looks worse than it did before.

I let the hot water run down my back, in hopes that it would help me relax. But the shower doesn't help me relax like I wish it would've. Instead, it makes me feel more alert. Giving up on the chance of being able to relax, I turn off the water quickly and get dressed, knowing that the other kids would be up by now.

When I run into somebody, I expect it to be Mariana or Jude, but it's Callie. I curse myself for not putting on my shirt. "Watch where you're going."

Callie doesn't respond to me, or at how harsh I am towards her, instead she's staring at me. "S-sorry." She stutters, finally looking away, going down the stairs.

I put on my shirt before I start down the stairs, and I can hear the twins bickering, and I know that it's nothing unusual.

I'm surprised by how much food there is on the table, there's never this much food where I've been. Much less real food. I sit down next to Jesus, who still eyes me.

"Bacon?" He asks, shoving another piece into his mouth, handing me plate. "We have pancakes too."

I take the plate from him quietly, and he smiles as I take one, and look at him.

"They aren't poison if that's what you're asking me. Just eat them, they're really good. Mom cooked them."

I shrug and take a bite.

"You guys are going to have to walk to school today," Lena says. "I need to drop off mama at the station. So hurry up. you guys need to be out the door in five- oh, and Callie? Can you show Brandon these are his classes."

"But I was going to hang out with Wyatt this morning."

"You see him everyday, Callie. I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine with you missing some time with him. Just show Brandon around, that's all I need of you Callie."

Callie nods, grumbling something and I mentally groan. Just more time to be stuck with her when I could be finding out where Sarah is.

"You guys are already late, go. I'll clean up later, hurry up!"

Everybody starts groaning, and Lena shoves a notebook into my hands. "This is until we get you a backpack, okay?"

I don't answer her, instead I just leave the table, waiting for Callie to come. She looks at me. "You better not get into a fight." Is all she says before walking out the door.

At first, I just stand there, surprised by her words. What does she think I do? Pick fights for no reason? If anything, I'm always the one they choose to fight. I'll admit that sometimes I push them too far, but I don't go around picking them for no reason.

She's already at the end of the street when I go after her. "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem?" Callie demands, turning around to face me. "What's your problem? One minute you're so easy to talk to then the next you're acting like a complete asshole!"

She starts to turn around, but I grab her wrist, forcing her to look at me.

"You're the one who's acting like you know everything about me! Do you really think that I pick fights for no reason?" I say through gritted teeth, and I see the fear in her eyes but I don't let it affect me.

"Seems like it," She mutters, looking away from me. "You're hurting me, Brandon."

I let go of her wrist. I probably grabbed it to hard, and she starts walking away again, and I don't stop her, instead I follow her. I can hear the twins bickering again close behind me, and I run my fingers through my hair.

Besides Callie, it wouldn't be to bad here. I could deal with the twins, Sarah would get along with them well. And Jude doesn't really do anything. He's just quiet.

The walk to the school is shorter than I expected, and I'm surprised when I see that it's on the beach. "You go to school here?"

"Get used to it, bro!" Jesus says, patting my back before riding away on his skateboard.

"You be surprised that we actually do more learning than spending time outside," Mariana tells me, shrugging. "Unless you're like Jesus."

The only thing I can think about is how much my dad would have wanted me to go here. He'd love it. Callie shoves a piece of paper into my hands hastily.

"You have all of the same classes as me, and a free period. I'll see you later."

I expected her to say something worse before leaving me, and I stare at the piece of paper in my hands. Free period is at the end of the day.

School is supposed to start in ten minutes according to the schedule, and I figured to make use of my time that I would waste it trying to find the class rooms.

Sadly when I do find the classroom, Callie saw it as a good time to makeout with her boyfriend against the door.

I clear my throat, and they jump apart, a blush immediately on Callie cheeks. "Good to see you, Callie." I say, and her boyfriend looks at me.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Brandon." I answer simply, and I can tell my answer angers him.

"Wyatt, relax," Callie says, her hand resting on his chest when she notices his anger. "He's just staying with us for a few weeks."

"Maybe forever."

Callie looks at me, and I regret saying that, I don't know what overcame me. I know that I would never get adopted by Stef and Lena.

"I doubt that will ever happen," Wyatt says. "A kid like you?"

"Says the hair model." I blurt, not really caring about what he would do to me.

"Maybe I should put another bruise on your face, how 'bout that?"

Callie steps between us this time, and I'm not going to lie, I'm thankful that she does. "Wyatt, leave him alone. He's not going to do anything."

Wyatt stares at me, and I know if it weren't for Callie being here, he would have no problem with fighting me. He knows that he has an advantage.

The bell rings, and Wyatt nods. "I'll see you next period."

I groan, and he looks at me before walking away.

"Do you have to ruin everything?" Callie demands, looking at me.

"Well it's not my fault that you guys were almost having sex in the middle of the hallway." I tell her, leaning against the wall as a bunch of kids come piling into the hallways around us.

Callie's mouth hangs open in shock. "I- I... We weren't... we weren't gonna have-"

"Trust me, it was going in that direction. You're welcome." I say, opening the door behind me, into the halfway filled classroom.

The teacher Timothy smiles at me. "You must be Brandon?"

I nod, surprised that he didn't stare at me before he said anything.

"Alright, we'll just wait until everybody is here, then we'll see where you can sit. You came in a good time, we're starting a new project today."

In a few minutes the bell rings again, and Timothy starts to take attendance. I don't bother to listen. It's not like I need to know anybody here.

"Brandon why don't you go sit down next to Tayla." I look at Timothy blankly, and he just nods his head towards her, a girl sitting behind Callie.

Tayla gives me a smile as I sit down, and I ignore it, crossing my arms over my chest. Timothy spends the entire class period explaining what we're doing. Reading some classic book and a presentation over it or something like that.

Tayla tries talking to me after class. "Hey, it's Brandon, right?"

"Yeah, why?" I ask, not bothering to look at her.

"I'm just making sure, when do you think we can get started on the project."

"I- uh, I don't know. I just got moved into a new foster house. I'll have to ask my foster moms."

Tayla nods. "Well, just let me know when you find out, okay?" She doesn't give me a chance to answer before she goes the opposite way.

* * *

It's finally free period, and I'm debating myself if I should go get Sarah myself or tell Stef, she's a cop. But then I would have to explain who she is and a bunch of other bullshit. I throw out the notebook Lena gave me, it has no use to me now.

I make it off of school campus when I hear Callie calling me. "Brandon! Where are you going?"

"Somewhere." I answer, not even slowing down to look at her.

"Off school campus? What is so important for you to leave school early?"

"My sister. Now why don't you go back to your hair model of a boyfriend?"

"I'm just trying to help!"

My hands ball up into fists. Callie would never help me. Never in a million years. "Are you sure about that? Because earlier you were blaming me for everything that went wrong in your life! It's not like you understand!"

"What don't I understand? That you just wanna get your sister back? I do understand, Brandon! The same thing happened to Jude and I. At least let me help you!"

I turn around to face her, and I know she's telling the truth. I want to turn around and leave her standing there, but I could use some help, right? If I get Sarah alone and things go wrong, I would probably end up in juvie again. Dumb ass probation. If Callie comes with me, I wouldn't have to worry. Sure I might get in trouble with Stef and Lena, but that's it.

My jaw tightens, and I nod, trying to contain my anger. "Fine."


	4. Chapter 4

Callie is stubborn. Well, when it's something she wants at least. Being stubborn sometimes either gets you in far in life, or people get pissed off at you. That's how it's always been for me. No in between.

Me? Well, I was getting into the pissed off stage. "Callie, come on! This could have been done already." I say loudly, running my fingers through my hair. There's no point in fighting with her, it's not going to do me any good.

"I don't understand why I can't call Stef! She's a cop! She can help you! Don't you think a little help would be nice?"

"God dammit, Callie! Are you gonna help me or not? We don't need a cop! All we need to do is get my sister!" I shout, not caring who hears me. Sarah could have already been out of the house until Callie said she was going to call Stef. "Go ahead! Call Stef! Then I'll never be able to see Sarah again!"

Callie's hard expression softens, and I expect her to say something about feeling sorry for me, but she just stares at me, her voice quiet when she speaks, I can hardly hear her. "That almost happened to Jude and I."

I'm already walking away from her due to my anger, not caring about happened between her and Jude right now. It doesn't really matter, they both have a family now. "Well, that doesn't matter anymore! Both of you are adopted! I don't see why any of it matters now!" I shout, my anger only growing as I walk away from her. I run my fingers through my hair, I sighing. Great. Just great. I probably just ruined the chance of having her help me.

"I used to be you!" Callie shouts, the anger now clear in her voice, causing me to groan. "I used to be just like you, Brandon!"

I stop walking.

I know people change. But not that much. Callie being like me? I don't see it. She's nothing but innocent. Not a mess like me. The anger that disappeared comes back, and I snap at her.

"Bullshit! You don't know anything about me, and you're saying that you used to be like me? Are you a moron? I'm nothing like you!" I shout, telling myself that she's lying to me. To try to make me feel better.

Callie gives up on talking to me, and I'm thankful. I know she's following me, a few feet behind. I also know that she's holding her phone tightly in case something bad happens, which probably will. I think about asking her if I can borrow it, to call Sarah.

It doesn't take us that long to get to the house, and when we do, Callie looks over at me, but I brush it off, taking a deep breath as I start up the steps, getting the key from underneath the mat.

Callie stares at me as I open the door. "What if she isn't here anymore?" She whispers, and I look at her. Now is not the time to think about that.

"If she's not here and they're home, we're gonna book it." I say, stepping inside slowly, and I can hear the TV on in the living room.

Without thinking, I grab Callie's hand, not bothering to see what her reaction is. "Stay close to me, okay?" I say quietly, and when there's no response, I look at her.

"I've been here before," Callie tells me, gripping my hand tighter, and I am thankful that she does; her hand is warmer than mine. "The Olmsteads."

I stare at her for a few minutes until I realize what she means, and I pull her closer to my side, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. She was fostered here. I can feel her heartbeat, and I know she's scared, if she lets it show or not.

Callie doesn't pull away like I thought she would. Instead I feel her arm wrap around my waist, grabbing the fabric of my shirt. I had the chance to protect my sister when we were here. But when Callie was here? She was probably busy trying to protect Jude. "I won't let him hurt you again." I promise her, not exactly sure of why I suddenly became upset at the idea of her getting hurt. It's not like I care about her.

"That's a promise you can't keep."

_It's just for today, _I think. _So I don't get into even more trouble after this. When they see that you got hurt. If you get hurt._

Suddenly there's screaming and Callie jumps, causing me to wrap my arm around her shoulders tighter. I can't let anybody get hurt now. Much less Callie.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Liam shouts, causing Sarah to come out of the living room, and she looks at me.

"Brandon!"

The anger is so clear in Liam's face, I'm surprised that he hasn't even tried to do anything yet. Against my side I can feel Callie's heartbeating faster. "It's okay." I whisper into her ear, not sure of what else to do. Liam takes a step closer to me, and I don't move. I took him before. I can do it again if I have too.

"Get the fuck out of my house."

"Let me take Sarah," I say, not meaning to sound pleading, but I do and he smirks. "Please. Then you'll never have to see me again, Liam."

"Okay. I'll give you your sister. If you give me Callie."

Callie pushes father into my side to the point where the bruise starts to hurt again, and I know she was hoping that he didn't recognize her. No matter how much I dislike her, I can't let Liam have that satisfaction. "No." I say firmly, and Callie relaxes a little bit.

I should have thought it through, think of a way to get Sarah and Callie out of here safely, because Liam grabs Sarah by the wrist, pull her to him. "Why don't you tell him how much fun we had last night?" Liam says, and I watch like an idiot as he wraps his arms around her waist, pressing himself against her.

My sister. Anger courses through my veins, and I let go of Callie, shoving Liam away from Sarah, and he stumbles. "Get the hell away from my sister!" I shout, my hands balling into fists. This is what happened a year ago. Can things be different for once?

Liam quickly gets over his shock, shoving me back, Sarah and Callie a few feet behind me. I won't be able to protect both of them, but Liam seems angered enough not care at this point anymore.

Without thinking, I shove him again, and this time he falls to the ground. For a moment, I'm worried. I didn't mean to push him that hard, I just didn't want him to come any closer to Callie or Sarah.

I feel fingertips brush against mine before they lace with mine. "Come on, Brandon. Let's go." Callie says, tugging my hand gently, but Liam is already on his feet again, and Callie grips my hand tighter.

I know exactly what I going to happen next, if I don't do something, so without warning, I push Callie behind me, and Liam's hand connects to my already bruised face.

"I don't care what you do! Just get the fuck out of my house!"

Sarah had already left, probably waiting for me to come out. I grab Callie's hand for what seems the millionth time today and pull her after me, stumbling through the front door. The next thing that I know is that Sarah has her arms wrapped around my neck tightly, and I bury my face in her hair, wrapping my arms around her.

It's been such a long time since I've seen her. "God, Sarah, I... I'm so sorry that I-"

I stop talking, not sure of what I would even say to her. Callie is a few feet to the side, and I know she's watching us carefully. I ignore the feeling that I get, and look at Sarah, taking her face in my hands.

"How much has he done it?" I demand, even though it's the worst thing I could ask right now. "You knew I wasn't going to be here, and you didn't try t-"

Callie cuts me off. "Brandon, now is not the time. Lets go home, okay?"

She's right. I shouldn't be pressing Sarah for answers now, not when I just go her out of that terrible place. I feel bad that we didn't have time to pack her any clothes.

I nod silently, and take Sarah's hand before I start to follow Callie. I want to say sorry to both of them, but I don't know how. Or _why_ I would say sorry to Callie.

I wrap my arm around Sarah's shoulders, and we follow Callie home, who doesn't say a word to either of us. I didn't expect her too anyways. "Is it safe there?" Sarah asks me quietly.

"I think so," I murmur. "They adopted four kids. Callie's adopted."

Sarah only nods in response. I study her face carefully. And I feel relived when I see no bruises on her. Until it hits me that they could be under her long sleeves or on her legs. Callie looks back at us before she opens the door, and I can hear everybody talking.

Suddenly Lena and Stef are pounding me with questions, and Sarah looks at me, but I ignore her. "This is my sister, Sarah," I mutter, answering one of Stef and Lena's many questions. "I... I got her out of our old foster house. Thanks to Callie."

Both of them turn to Callie, asking her the same questions they asked me.

"Moms, I'm fine. Thanks to Brandon," Stef and Lena stop, looking at both of us, and Callie goes on. "She was with... Liam, he almost hit me. He would have if it weren't for Brandon being there."

Both of their faces soften, and I almost let out a sigh of relief. "Are you hungry?" I ask Sarah, and she shrugs.

Stef and Lena just look at me before going into the kitchen, and I follow them. To be honest, I was getting hungry myself.

Dinner is quiet and awkward. Nobody says anything, but I know that they're debating if the should stare at Sarah, or the new red mark on my cheek. Stef and Lena have decided that tomorrow I'm going to have to go out after school and get clothes, and I mentally groan.

"And Callie will be with you two." Lena says, looking at Sarah and I.

Fuck no.

* * *

I was about to go to bed. Until Callie comes into the kitchen, clearly nervous, the way she pulls her short closer to her body. I think about ignoring her, going to the living room with Sarah. Go to bed like I planned. I'll admit, I am tired.

"I want to thank you," Callie says quietly, and I look at her confused. Why the hell would she want to thank me? I didn't do anything. Noticing my expression, she goes on. "For today. I thought that he was going to hit me."

My hands ball into fists. Did she really think I had a choice? If we came home and she had a red mark on her face, I would not be here. I did not want to stop Liam. I really could care less about what happens to Callie. It was more for me. "Do think I _wanted_ to do that?" I ask, shaking my head. "I didn't have a choice but make sure he didn't hurt you. I could care less."

"If you could care less then why'd you take it?" Callie asks, and I freeze, running my fingers through my hair.

_I don't know_, I think. _Because I couldn't stand to think about you getting hurt. I barely know you. And I didn't want you to get hurt. Stupid, eh? _

That is what I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her that so bad, because in the back of my head, something tells me that there's a chance, a very small chance, that she would believe me. And I feel like she would. Somebody would believe me when I'm telling the truth, right?

"I didn't want to get kicked out when your moms saw the mark." I say simply, shrugging.

"That wouldn't happen."

"Are you sure? Because I know what they think. They would've blamed me because I'm a troubled kid, Callie."

"You aren't troubled." She whispers, as if she's afraid that somebody will hear us, and I don't see why she would care so much.

"Yeah, whatever."

Callie sighs, and I know she giving up on trying to talk to me, and she walks out of the kitchen. At least I think she does until I hear her speak again. "I really am sorry about that."


	5. Chapter 5

One thing about Anchor Beach. It's full of assholes. There's the assholes who never shut up, not even noticing that they are being assholes. And then there's the assholes like Callie's boyfriend, Wyatt. He's the type of asshole that knows he could have kids screaming for their mother, the one who knows exactly what he's doing. "So," Wyatt says, shoving me against the lockers. It's the few free minutes we get before school starts. I don't try to do anything, it's not worth it, in the end, I'll be the one who gets blamed for whatever happens. "I heard that you're the reason that Callie isn't in school today."

What the fuck? I wasn't the reason, I'm far from being the reason why she isn't in school today. Callie just woke up late, that's it. So Lena walked to school with the rest of us so Callie can drive here. "She's coming to school, moron," I mutter, not exactly planning on him to hear me, and I refrain from telling him that he needs a hair cut. "Callie woke up late, don't have to get so protective. God."

Wyatt lets go of my shirt that was balled up in his hands, and I smirk as he shakes his head. "What happened? Somebody hit you again?" He asks, eyeing the red mark still on my cheek.

"Yeah, 'cause I was protecting your stupid girlfriend, mophead."

I'm suddenly pressed up against the lockers again, and I make a mental note that Wyatt has a short temper, and a sharp jolt is in my side. The bruise. I think about pushing him away, to get the pressure off of it, but it would probably end up with me in the office. "What the fuck did you say?" He demands. "If anything, you were getting her hurt-"

I expected a teacher to come by and see us and push Wyatt off of me, but I'm surprised when it's Talya. "Wyatt, give the poor guy a break, will you? He already has enough on his hands."

Wyatt let's go of me, shaking his head as he walks down the hall, and Talya looks at me as I fix my shirt. "Are you okay?" She asks me, and I almost roll my eyes at her. Why would she care if I'm okay?

"Yeah. I didn't really need your help, though."

Talya raises an eyebrow questionably, and I want to tell her the she just wasted her time. That I can handle Wyatt and that I know he wouldn't do anything. Especially that he knows that I'm staying with Lena, it would only get him in trouble. Instead I shrug and stick my hands into my pockets. "Thanks for helping me anyways." I tell her, and she gives me a small smiles as the bell rings.

My first response is to leave Talya standing there, but it won't be any use because she has the same class as me. "So what was that for?"

Talya looks confused, and I sigh, shrugging. "For stopping him. He wouldn't have done anything."

Talya shrugs. "If you know Wyatt, he was ready to hit you, trust me. He overreacts sometimes."

"Tell me something I don't know." I mutter, opening the door to Timothy's room, and I see Callie, already sitting in her chair, her feet resting against the table. I guess she isn't as late as she thought she would be. She could have saved me a lot of trouble if she woke up early enough in the first place.

Instead of saying anything to her, I take my seat behind her as Talya sits next to me. "Are you able to work on our project today after school?"

I shrug, shaking my head. "No, I have to go out and get clothes at my foster moms commands."

Talya raises an eyebrow. "Foster _moms_?"

I nod, and turn my attention to Timothy, even though this is the most boring class I have. I would rather spend this time talking to Talya. Going over to her house or having her come over to the fosters wouldn't be so bad. Then I don't have to deal with Callie. Mophead. It has become official that he comes over to their house at least three times a week. Which is probably why Wyatt was so mad this morning, on top of Callie being late for school.

"Well, how about tomorrow?" Talya asks quietly.

"Uh, I'll have to ask my foster moms."

* * *

"Brandon, what about this one?" Callie asks, holding up a dark blue Tee shirt with a V neck. Also known as a shirt I would never wear. Callie should know by now that I only wear black. Not dark blue. Black. Or never wear a V neck for that matter.

"Hell no. I don't wanna look like a douchebag." I say, taking it out of her hands and putting it back on the rack. I can tell Sarah rolls her eyes at my response, annoyed by how difficult I am being for Callie.

"It would not make a difference," I hear Callie mutter, shaking her head. "You _are_ a douchebag. With the shirt or not."

"That's what _you_ think. Not what _I_ think. I happen to be a very nice person."

"Cocky much?"

I ignore Callie and grab a few black tee shirts and a few pair of jeans, and shove them into her arms, wanting to get this over with. Callie looks at the small pile in her hands.

"That's it? Just black shirt and jeans? How 'bout something... more colorful?"

I look at Callie blankly. I never wear colors. Black and jeans are the only thing I wear. I probably looked shocked at her suggestion and Sarah laughs, shaking her head. "Good luck with that, Callie. He never wears anything but black."

"What she said." I tell Callie, and Callie groans.

"Look, I don't want to be here and I know that you don't want to be here either, so you can pick something else or come here again with Stef or Lena."

I groan, and turn my back to her, grabbing some random shirts with the Nike logo on it and some basketball shorts. "Happy?" I ask, shoving those clothes into her arms as well, only making the pile bigger. How much money it was going to cost, I have no idea.

Callie mutters something about how I am always in a bad mood and that I need to work on my attitude. I do not act on it. She's right anyways, I probably do need to work on my attitude.

The lady at the register eyes widen when she sees pile of clothes Callie puts in front of her, and she starts swiping the tags as fast as she can. "Boyfriends become difficult when they need new clothes."

Callie and I are both startled by what the girl said. She couldn't be that old to think that we were dating. She looked at least forty. I open my mouth to say something, and Callie notices, and elbows my side, making me wince, Callie hit the bullseye. My bruise starts throbbing in pain.

"We are not dating," Callie says politely, and I roll my eyes. She just has to be so damn nice to everybody. "He is my foster brother."

"Oh, that's a shame," The lady says, putting the clothes into a plastic bag and handing it to Callie. "You two would make a great couple."

_A great couple?_

Sure. Callie and I are just so head over heels for each other.

I run my fingers through my hair and try to stop myself from laughing, but it is not very effective. Callie and I would never end up together. Opposites do not work well together. Being stuck with each other for only three days have already proven that. Because both of us hate each other, no matter what either of do or say. I guess it was a good sign that Wyatt hates me as well.

Callie thanks the lady and tries to elbow me again, but I easily move out of her way. "What was that?" Callie hisses, shaking her head. "The least you could have done is be nice about it!"

"Why would I? Callie, I would never date you! So why would I be nice about it?" I can tell my words hurt her, and I want to say sorry, that I don't know why I said that to her, because I am not sure. I didn't tell her the truth.

"We should get home." Callie says quietly, and I nod in response, probably too quickly. We should get home. We have homework to do. Sarah has to go to bed early for her first day of school tomorrow.

When we get home, everybody is sitting at the table, and I mentally groan. I'm probably the reason why everybody is sitting at the table, staring at Callie, Sarah and I as we walk in. I want to say something, but Stef beats me too it.

"Why don't you three sit down?"

I don't sit down, I lean against the counter behind Sarah, and wait for Lena and Stef to start telling us whatever they want us to hear.

"Sarah and Brandon are going to stay with us for more than a few weeks, so we need to get them into rooms. Jesus and Jude are already sharing a room, so that's fine. We were thinking that we could have Callie move into Mariana's room, and have Brandon and Sarah together?"

I'm surprised when Sarah even says something. "I- uh, is it okay if I share a room with Mariana?" She asks quietly, and I run my fingers through my hair.

"No Sarah, we can share a room, we've done it before, it-" Sarah looks back at me, and I shut up. Knowing why she doesn't want to share a room with me. She doesn't trust me anymore. At least not like she used too.

Stef and Lena look at each other. "Uh, yeah. I guess that would be fine. So then Brandon would have to share Callie's room, her bed is big enough for both of them, isn't it?"

"No, no, no. It's okay," I say quickly. "Really, it is. I'll stay on the couch. I will be fine there."

"No, you mister are not going to sleep on that couch anymore, do you understand me?" Stef asks sternly, and I nod, looking at Callie. "For Sarah, we have an extra mattress and bed frame in the basement. Jesus, Brandon. Get to it."

I barely hear her. Just my luck, I have to share a room with Callie.

Shit.

Putting the bed frame took a lot less work than I thought it would take, and Jesus tells me to leave. So I do. And knock awkwardly on Callie's closed bedroom door.

A few seconds later, it flies open, and very angry looking Callie stands there, staring at me before moving to let me. There are extra pillows in the middle of the bed. "That is your side of the room. This is mine."

That explains the pillows in the middle of the bed. Did she really think that I was going to try to do anything to her. I ignore what she says, and grab a pillow off of the bed, and an extra blanket, laying on the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Going to bed, what does it look like?" I say, causing Callie to groan, but I ignore what she says.

I already know that this is not going to end well.

* * *

Talya is at the front door. I do not even know why I asked Stef and Lena if she can come over to work on our project. They seemed pleased at the fact that a girl from school was going to be able to come over.

"Uh, hey. Why don't you come in?" I say awkwardly, moving out of the way so she can come in, giving her a small smile.

Talya returns the smile, before looking around. "Nice house," She says, looking at me. "How long are you staying here?"

"I don't know, but why don't you come meet Stef, since you probably already now Lena." I lead her into the kitchen where Stef and Lena are.

"Oh, hi sweetie," Lena says, noticing us. "It's been a while, Talya. How are you?"

"I'm good, Mrs. Foster. How are you?"

"Please, call me Lena here will you? This is my partner Stef." Stef smiles, putting down her cup of coffee.

"Hello Talya. How's school? Lena keeping all of you guys in place?"

Talya nod politely. "As much as I'd love to stick around, Brandon and I should get started on our project."

We start to leave, but Stef stops us. "Talya honey, have you eaten dinner?"

Talya shakes her head no, and I mental groan.

"Dinner is going to be read soon, why don't you stay here for some?"

"I would love to," Talya says as I start to pull her upstairs. "You know, Brandon they aren't as bad as you make them sound."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure," I say, opening Callie's room door, only to see her sprawled across the bed, earbuds in. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask.

"It's my room. What the hell is she doing here?" Callie asks, looking at Talya, and I run my fingers through my hair.

"She's here so we can work on our project. Why else?"

Callie groans, and pushes past us and disappears into Mariana's room. "Stef and Lena aren't bad," I tell Talya. "Callie is."

Talya doesn't answer, and I sit on Callie's bed next to her, watch her as she does all the work, pausing a few times at ask me a few questions that are pretty simple. I was hoping that we are almost done for the night and so she can leave before dinner, but suddenly Talya covers my lips with hers.

I don't know what to do. I like Talya, she was easier to talk to than Callie, but I don't actually like her. I wouldn't want a relationship with Talya that is more than just friends. But without thinking, I kiss her back pulling her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her.

The kiss really doesn't mean anything. At least to me it doesn't. Talya is a fast mover, one second her hands are in my hair and the next they're tugging at my shirt, without warning I pull away and yank my shirt above my head, throwing it on the floor somewhere. Talya kisses me again the moment I look back at her, her hands resting on my chest before they trail down to my stomach.

I flip us over so her back is pressed against the mattress, my weight on my elbows. "What about our project?" I ask her, breathless.

"We'll finish it later." Talya says as I close the small gap between our lips, her nails scratching my stomach lightly. Her fingers brush against the bruise, and it hurt a lot more than I thought it would.

Talya doesn't seem to notice my discomfort and kisses me harder, and I think about saying something, that we shouldn't be doing this. I just can't bring myself to it.

Then the door flies open. "Dinner is rea- what the fuck?" Callie's confused voice reaches my ears, and I look at her, just as confused. "You two are about to hav-"

"There's a such thing called knocking," I say shrugging, climbing off of Talya. "There's a reason why the door was closed in the first place." I tell her, picking up my shirt that I threw on the floor.

Callie just groans, shaking her head. "Dinner is ready. _Now_."


	6. Chapter 6

"Brandon!" I groan when I hear her voice, and decide to ignore it, shoving more textbooks into my locker. "Brandon!" Talya voice is much closer than it was before, and I slam my locker shut.

"Yeah?"

Talya takes a deep breath, looking at the floor. "Look, about last night, I- uh, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

I lean against the lockers. She is apologizing for kissing me? I almost laugh at the idea, but the look on her face makes me stop. Yeah, I only see her as a friend. If we are even friends. I am still surprised that she is apologizing for kissing me. It's not like it's a crime to kiss somebody.

"It's okay," I tell her, running my fingers through my hair. Not really caring about it. It doesn't mean anything to me. But it could to her, and I'm pretty sure that Stef and Lena would be happy when they find out that Talya and I are dating. If I am stupid enough to say that I would date her. "I promise."

"I- But I was jus-"

"Making sure that we don't become friends with benefits or something? It is fine, besides, you're a good kisser."

A blush rises to Talya's cheeks, and she looks away from me. "So we're good? Still friends?"

I raise an eyebrow, and wrap my arms around her shoulder, leading us away from the class room, ignoring the look I get from Callie, jealously clear on her face. The idea of her being jealous makes me smile. "Friends? Let's see if we're still friends after dinner tonight."

"D-Dinner?" Talya stutters, looking up at me and I nod.

"Unless you don't want to go out with me." I tell her, half praying that she would say that she's busy, half praying that she would say that she can. Either way, Callie will still be jealous.

"Uh, my parents are outta town tonight," Talya mutters, and I smile even more. "You can just hang out at my house if you want."

"That," I whisper, lowering my head to her neck. "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you at six, okay?"

"Okay." Talya says quietly, shivering as my lips make contact with her neck.

"Good," I say, pulling away from her. I make the mistake of looking behind us, only to see Callie and Wyatt behind us. "I'll see you at six then."

Talya smiles and nods. "Six it is then." She says, working her way out of my arm, smiling at me before she goes down the hall.

I turn around, only to face Callie, who has her arms crossed over her chest, looking at me like a five year that did something wrong. "What?" I ask, running my hands through my hair.

"What are you doing?"

"I was setting up a date with a girl, what did it look like?" I ask, not really caring at this point for what Callie has to say.

"With _her_?" Callie's nose wrinkles in disgust. "Why the hell would you go on a date with her?"

The truth is that I don't know why I said that to Talya. Talya is the type of girl I would never like, no matter what. She just seemed to boring. Too busy with school to have time for anything else. "Well, for starters, she is the only person in school that likes me. And I'm into her." I tell Callie, turning around, ignoring the look on her face.

I know that Callie follows me, and I feel her hand on my arm. "Just be careful with her, okay?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Be careful? What do you think? That I'm gonna have my heart broken by some girl?"

"No, I- ugh! Forget it! Sorry for trying to help you!"

"Like a girl like Talya is going to get me in trouble!" I say, more loudly than I intended too, and I know that I surprised her.

"You could just listen to me for once in your life, Brandon! I didn't say that she was going to ge-" Wyatt suddenly appears again, pulling her away from me.

"Forget it, Cals," He says, looking at me. "It's no use trying to help him anyways."

I want to say something to Wyatt, but I can't bring myself too it. Not when it's true. It is not going to make a different if Callie tries to help me or not, hell, sometimes I think that I do need her help. But I still would not listen to her if she tries to help me. I never listen to what people have to say to me. I never have time, or it is never the truth.

Callie would never lie to me, would she? I know she's honest to Stef and Lena. Even to Wyatt, and I do not see why. He is an asshole, no matter how nice he is to her. But to me? People tend to become someone else around certain people. Was I one of the people Callie is different around?

Even if she is different around me, why do I care so much about it?

* * *

"Hey Brandon, would you like to join us?" Stef asks, just as my hand rests on the doorknob, and I mentally curse.

"Uh, no thank you. I am not hungry right now."

A small frown comes onto Stef's mouth, like she is actually upset that I turned down her offer to eat dinner with them. "Are you sure? Where are you going?"

"I, uh... I'm going on a date with Talya?" I tell her, but it comes out more like a question, and I look down awkwardly, eyeing the holes at my knees in my jeans. Hopefully Stef or Lena will not say anything about it. I am already late.

"Talya? As in the Talya who was here yesterday?" Lena asks.

I do not answer, I only nod, and Lena and Stef smile.

"Well, you go ahead and have fun on your date. Just make sure you're home at least by Eleven, okay, Brandon?"

"Okay," I say opening the door, grabbing the keys to Lena's car. "I'll see you guys later."

I get to Talya's house faster than I thought I would have, and I knock on her door, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. I still do not know why I am standing here, spending time with a girl I have no interest in. It could be the fact that she is the only way I can get out of the house. Away from Stef and Lena.

Away from _Callie_.

Callie is not as bad as I tell myself she is. In fact, she is actually pretty cool. Callie could be easy to get along with if I did not make things so difficult for her. On top of that, she is pretty. The way her brown hair falls down onto her shoulders in curls, or how her brown eyes always seem to show concern for me.

Only if I would try just as hard as Callie does.

The door flies open, and Talya is now standing in front of me, dressed up much nicer than I would have expected. "What are you, meeting the president?" I ask, causing Talya to laugh.

"No, but I bet this is better. Spending time with you. At least for me it is."

"If you told me that you were going to dress up this nice.." I trail off, looking at the dress she is wearing. It was probably simple for her, a black dress that stopped a little above her knees. "I- uh, I would have worn something nicer."

Talya just rolls her eye, pulling me through the door, and I stumble after her. "Uh, you wanna watch a movie?" She asks, and I can only nod.

"The TV in my room is hooked up to Netflix."

I give her a smile as I follow her up the stairs to her room. Her house seems nice enough, and I'm surprised when I see how big her room is. "Only child?" I ask, and Talya just nods before she turns on the TV, and I sit on the edge of the bed. I do not want to be too close to her, it always ends up the same. Like how it was last night until Callie came in. I'm not gonna lie, I was actually thankful that Callie came storming in. It gave me a reason to leave Talya.

"Do you watch the Walking Dead?"

"I have been in Juive for a year. No. I don't watch it." I tell her, and I remember the first time I saw Callie in that car. The look of shock on her face at my words, then the look in her eyes. Her eyes were the same. There was so much emotion in them that I could not understand what she was thinking.

Then she kissed me.

"Brandon?" Talya pulls me out of the thoughts, and I am thankful.

I stuff my hands into my pockets to keep them warm, and look over at her. "Yeah?"

"You don't have to do this if you don't want too."

"W-what? I asked you if I can come over for a reason, Talya." To get away from Callie. But I can't say that to Talya, I am not in the mood to tell her in the first place. I know that this is not a good choice. In the end, I'm gonna end up hurting her. And maybe, the day I do is the day I start to care about her.

"Look, Brandon, I can tell you're thinking about another girl. You have that look on your face."

I sigh, knowing there was no way out of this one, I was just thinking about another girl. "It doesn't matter," I mutter, looking away from her. "She's dead." I tell her, even though I was thinking about Callie. Callie is close enough to what Lou was.

Talya does not say anything, and I know I should not have even said anything about Lou. Now she feels sorry for me.

"Brandon, I..." Talya trails off and I'm thankful. Until it hits me.

"Uh, what day is it?" I ask quickly, getting off of her bed.

"November fourth, Brandon a-"

Of course I am stupid enough to forget today. How could I be so stupid, forgetting that today is Lou's birthday? I need to go. I need to get out of here now.

"Look, Talya I gotta go. I'll be back, I promise. Just give me twenty minutes, please?" I ask, not waiting for her response, and I feel my chest get heavy. I forgot Lou's birthday.

I'm already running down the stairs, throwing the door, not even bothering to close it behind me. Lena car sits in the driveway, but I just keep on running, getting into the car would be too much work. I think about getting flowers like I did last time, but I am already late. I promised myself that I would never be late. Not when it's Lou's birthday.

The cemetery is not as far from Tayla's house as from The Fosters, and I make a mental note to thank her later. On the closed gate, it has the hours it's open. Why a damn cemetery has hours, I don't know. I would never be able to get this lock and chains off. So I look up at it, judging the height. It was short enough for me to easily climb. But if I jump or fall, it's high enough for the force to break an ankle or a leg.

"Oh, fuck it." I curse quietly as I grip the two bars in front of me, and start to pull myself up. My bruise starts screaming at me, telling me to stop climbing. To forget about Lou. But I can't do that. Not now. I swing my leg over the side, and stop for a second. Police are probably on their way now, so I swing my other leg over, quickly deciding to jump. I can deal with a broken ankle.

A sharp pain shoots up my leg, but I'm already running again. I haven't ran like this in a long time. The last time? To the hospital while I left Liam on the floor. Besides the day I found out that my father died, that was the worst day of my life. Finding out what Liam did to Sarah. Where Lou was with out an explained reason. Going to juvie. I was able to get out for a few hours to see her funeral.

I'm out if breath by the time I get to Lou's grave, and I ignore the sweat falling down from my forehead. I should've gotten some flowers. The dead grass made it worse. But all I can really think that is I'm late. How could _I_ be late for Lou? It was her job to be the late one.

Before I can even think it through, I'm talking, staring at the headstone. It hurt to read her name, and the numbers. "I'm late, Lou. I'm so sorry, I forgot to come see you on your birthday. How stupid am I? I even forgot flowers, you know. I should've brought them. It wouldn't matter, I'm still late. That's your job, _you_ were always the late one," I pause, running my fingers through my hair, telling myself to stay in one piece. "I.. I got Sarah back like you would have wanted me too. She's safe. For now, I guess."

I do not know why I wait for a response, no, forget that. I do know why I wait. I want Lou to be back so bad, that I stand here like a moron, hoping that there is a small chance that she will answer. I know that nobody is going to answer me, but it still doesn't stop my for waiting.

"I need to go," I say quietly, even though I am completely alone. "I just forgot about Talya, Lou. She's nothing like you but I still gotta go. I'll bring you flowers soon."

I turn around and run my fingers through my hair before I start walking away, not bothering to run anymore. Talya is probably at her house still watching TV. How long I've been here, I have no clue. All I know is that I need to leave now.

Like I thought, Talya is still in her room watching TV. The only difference is that she changed into sweats and a Tee-shirt.

"And he lives," Talya says, not bothering to look at me. "Feeling better now?"

I don't answer.

"Wanna talk about it?"

* * *

_"Where's Liam?" I demand, my hands balling into fists, looking at Sarah. "Why didn't you call me?" I ask through gritted teeth. "I would have stayed home, Sarah!" _

_"Brandon... I- it wouldn't have made a difference."_

_"Wouldn't make a difference? Sarah, I could have stopped him! That's what I'm here for! To make sure that nothing happens to you!" I shout, not caring who heard us. Liam can try to hurt Sarah again, but I won't let that happen. Not again._

_I grip the edge of the table to contain my anger. Liam didn't seem that bad. Then the one time I trust all of them enough, Liam does something. "Do his parents know?" _

_Footsteps reach my ears, and I know it's Liam. His parents are already at work. "Morning," He says when he see me, a smirk on his lips. "How'd you sleep?" _

_"You're an asshole!" I say, already moving towards him, ignoring Sarah. "What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_Liam just smiles, running his fingers through his hair. "I was just having fun last night."_

_More anger courses through my veins. "My sister is not a toy! You can't ju-"_

_"Just what?" _

_"You raped her! I can go to court for this you know!"_

_"Do you really think that they are gonna believe a foster kid like you?"_

_I lose my self control, and the next thing that I know is that my fist connects with his face, causing him to stumble. "You raped her! You deserve to go to jail!" _

_Liam seems startled that I even punched him, like it was a reaction that he didn't expect. I can see the anger on his face, and I know I made a mistake. _

_In his anger, he tackles me. The impact knocks the wind out of me, and I can hear Sarah yelling, telling us to stop. Both of us ignore her as his fists connects to my ribs. I try to push him off of me, but he's too heavy. I manage to elbow him in the face, and he's stunned for a second. _

_I punch him in the face. And again. I keep punching him, even though my hands sting. They'll probably be bruised for awhile. When Liam finally stops trying to stop me, my anger fades away, and I realize what I just did. He's not moving. Low pulse. _

_"Sarah, I-" I get cut off by the pounding at the door. _

_"Police! Open up immediately!"_

_It doesn't surprise me that Sarah called them. I'm pretty sure that I just killed Liam. I'm the one who deserves to be in jail. My phone starts to vibrate, and I look at it. _

_Lou's dad. _

_I don't bother to answer it. I don't have time too, but I know that I need to get to the hospital._

_The police bang on the door again, louder. "Open up now or we're gonna kick the door open!"_

_I can't go out the door. Not the front door at least. Sarah is in the corner, looking at me in shock. The back door could work, right? I'll have to run through a few back yards though._

_Screw it. I throw the back door open, and I hear a loud crash and know that they did kick open. "He's going out the back door, go to the backyard!"_

_It's too late, I'm already climbing over the fence and running across the neighbor yard, and they're screaming at me but I ignore it. I already caused enough damage to other people. _

_My side is aching from where Liam punched me, but I keep running, telling my legs to move faster, that I have to get to the hospital before they catch me. They let dogs out too. I can hear them barking and the sirens getting closer. _

_I can't let them catch up to me. Not now. I'm only a few minutes away from the hospital. More houses are in the way. One of the back doors is open. The kid screams in surprise, but I ignore it, the looks I get from the parents in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Their dog starts barking at me too, almost to prove it's point that I'm dangerous. _

_The door is locked with a deadbolt. Of course. The sirens come closer, I don't have time to open this door. I look around. I could go upstairs, but that would mean I get caught. Or I can break the window. _

_Without thinking, I slam my fist into the glass next to the door, ignoring the pain in my hand, and an alarm goes off._

_Shit. _

_A dozen of cars turn down this street as I squeeze through the broken window, ignoring the shards that poke through my shirt. On the bright side, they're going the opposite way I am. _

_The hospital comes into my sight, and I feel relived even though every cop in San Diego is after me. _

_I'm still running when I get into the hospital, my lungs feel like they're on fire. I don't bother to stop at the elevator, I start taking the stairs two at a time until I reach the second floor, where Lou dad is waiting. _

_"What took you so long?" Lou father demands, not bothering to ask about my bloody hand. Or how I'm soaked in sweat. "You're late! She _was _asking for you! You wouldn't answer, you didn't come on time!" _

_Lou was asking for me? I'm late. I'm late to see her one last time. "She's gone." Lou father says, all of the anger gone and I see the tears and pain in his eyes. _

_She's gone. _

_It echoes in my ears, and all of the strength and energy I had from the adrenaline disappears, and I fall to my knees._

_"She's dead?" I ask, and he looks at me, and I feel bad for asking. I wasn't on time. I didn't see her again. He'll never forgive me. I was supposed to care about her. I did. She's gone now. _

_I hear the doors fly open, and don't move when I see the police coming in. Yelling something about getting out of the way and grabbing me. I don't even react to them, still stunned by the fact that Lou is gone. We all knew she was going to die someday. Just not today. She had a few more weeks. That's what the doctors told us._

_When I feel hands on my arms, it hits me that I'll never be able to see her again. Never get to hold her hand or do anything with her. She's gone. I'll never get to talk to her again. I start fighting the police that are trying to cuff me, kicking and elbowing. Getting a punch in. Anything to get to Lou._

_"Let me see Lou!" I shout, ignoring the looks I get. I already caused enough damage, to the point where I just don't give a damn. "Please! Just let me see her! One more time, please!" I start pleading, not caring to wipe my eyes._

_I manage to get out of their grip for a few seconds, only long enough for me to rest my hand against the glass, leaving blood from my hand on it while they start to pull me away. But I can see her through the glass. The straight line on the heart monitor, her mother still sitting next to her, holding her hand. I should be the one holding her hand. She wanted to see me, not her mom. _

_I stopped fighting the police, letting them drag me away, the image of Lou lifeless on the bed burning into my mind. The last time I'll ever see her._

_I know she'll never hear me. I never said it to her when I should have. "I love you, Lou. I'm so sorry, Lou. I should have been here for you." _

_The police yank on my arms, and I start walking, finally looking away, ignoring the questions they were asking me. _

_Everything is telling me to fight, to look back, to keep looking until the doors close, but I can't do that. Not when I know it'll be the last time I look back._

* * *

"No," I answer, running my fingers through my hair. "I don't want to talk about it. It's not that I don't trust you.. I, ugh, I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."

Talya nods silently, and I lay down next to her, trying to pay attention to the show, but I can't when all I'm thinking about is Lou.

After a few episodes of The Walking Dead, I decide that I have to leave. It's only nine thirty, but I can't stand to be stuck in Talya's room, watching colors flicker on the screen.

Talya looks at me, like she can read my mind. "You can go home if you want to, it's getting late."

"Yeah, you're right. Stef and Lena wanted me to be home by ten. Thanks for having me over," I tell her, running my fingers through my hair. "Even though I kinda abandoned you for a while."

Talya just shrugs it off. "You had your reasons. Go home before you get in trouble."

I don't answer, just leave her room, making sure that I have Lena's car keys, and unlock the door as I close the front door behind me. It wasn't as bad it could have been. She could have

When I open the door, I'm surprised to see that everybody is still sitting at the table, expect for Sarah, and I know that something has happened. Probably because of me.

"Where's Sarah?"

Stef sighs, and she looks at me. "She was taken back by the Olmsteads."


	7. Chapter 7

She was taken back by Olmsteads.

Stef words echo in my ears. Out of everything, I loose Sarah again. I'll probably never be able to get her back, thanks to my bad luck. My head starts to fog up, and I feel dizzy. Not Sarah. They should have taken me. I hear one of them call me, to tell me to sit down, but I can't. Not when Sarah is stuck with Liam.

It took them two months for them to finally get back at me.

"You promised me that we would be safe here!" I was stupid enough to believe them. They jump in surprise when I slam my hand onto the table in my anger. This is not the first time this happened. All because I am not here when Sarah needs me. I am never here when she needs me. No wonder why she does not trust me anymore. How could she? I basically leave her all by herself, and I still tell her that I will protect her? Only an idiot would believe me.

"I want to see her! Stef, you are a cop! Go get her back! You can do that, right?" I say loudly, trying to calm myself down. Stef and Lena can figure this out, I know they can. Stef can go get her. Or go to court or something. I tell myself to let them take care of it, because I know that the next time I see any of them, I will end up snapping. And then I would end up getting pushed into the back of Stef's car.

"Brandon, calm down, we're working on it. We'll go to the judge tomorrow, okay? You are going to school."

"I am still going to school? No! I wanna come with you!" I say, my new anger giving them another reason for me to go to school. But I need to make sure that Sarah comes back. I promised myself that I would do anything to help her. This is when I should be doing anything to help her, but instead I'm yelling at Stef and Lena.

"Brandon," Stef says so calmly, it makes me want to yell at her. How could she be so calm? They took my sister back. And nobody bothered to get me, or to stop them. I can see why. It is not like Stef and Lena want to adopt her. "You, Jude, Mariana, and Jesus are still going to school, because none of you are witnesses. Callie is coming with Lena and I."

I do not answer her, I just can not bring myself to it. Sarah is only going to hate me even more if that is possible. Then I would not be able to protect her. My eyes meet Callie was I look away from Stef and Lena, and I let them stay there. Her brown eyes showing concern, pleading me almost. As if to plead me to talk to her when everybody else is gone. When we're in her room alone at eleven at night, arguing about me sleeping on the floor. But there is more than just that, and I know what she is actually pleading me. To trust her, to let her take care of this with Stef and Lena. Promising me that she can get Sarah back.

The truth is, I do believe her. I trust her enough to let her do this for me, but I always ruin it right before she seems to feel like that I actually do trust her. Trust is a strong thing that always haves to be earned. The only thing that she does not know is that I have trusted her since the day I first met her, in the back of that police car. The look in her eyes gave it all away, and I just lost Lou. I needed somebody else to trust. And Callie got mine in less than a minute. I might have regretted it, but now I could not be so happy at myself for trusting her. I trusted her to help Sarah. But to help me? I don't know yet. Nobody can help me.

I want to say something, to tell Stef and Lena that I want Sarah to be back at home when I get home, but I can't tell them that. They have already done enough stuff for me. Now they are fighting for me. "I'm going to bed." I mutter, not expecting anybody to hear me.

"That's a good idea," Lena says. "Lets all go to bed, we all have a busy day tomorrow."

Callie is the first one up, following me to her own room, and I contain myself from slamming the door behind me. I ignore her staring, and pull my shirt over my head before lying down on the floor. I hear her sigh, and turn off her light before she gets into her bed. Even though both of us are awake, we don't say anything. I wait for Callie to say something, she's always the one to start our conversations.

When I start to think about saying something first, she beats me to it. "I heard that it's not healthy to go to bed angry."

"Well, that's too bad, 'cause I'm going to bed." I say, not in the mood to deal with what Callie wants to say to me. We'll just end up fighting.

Callie is quiet for a few moments, before she talks again. "It's not healthily to go to bed angry," She repeats quietly, and I hear her sheets shifting. "Come here, I wanna see you when I try to talk to you."

I groan, and roll over, only to see Callie in her bed, leaning on her elbows, the sheets pushed back as she looks at me. I want to turn down her offer, but at the same time I want to take it, and actually talk to her. Without either one of us getting mad at each other.

I get to my feet, grabbing the pillow I took from her bed the first night I started sleeping in her room, I surprises me that it was almost two months, each night filled with tension. But none of it is here anymore.

I climb into the bed next to her, making sure that there's space between us. I don't want to get too close to her, but Callie doesn't even seem to mind anymore.

"I'm sorry about Sarah," Callie tells me, and I know she means it. Her eyes are still begging me to promise her. "But I know that's not the only thing bothering you, Brandon."

Callie's eye are red, and I can tell she's tired, the small dark circle underneath her eyes. "It's nothing, Cals," I say, and I know I surprised her. "What's wrong with you? You've been crying."

Callie shrugs as if it's nothing, but I really do care about what she has to say, not that any of if it is my business. "Wyatt and I broke up," Callie tells me and she gives me a smile. Smiling over a break up. "You know, at first I was upset about it, but then I really didn't care about it. I didn't even feel upset about it, I was only upset for like a minute. Sucks, right?"

I don't know what to say. "I guess."

"It's just Wyatt, I always knew that it wasn't going to work out, we were best friends before we started dating. It happened one day when he said he loved me. Not that I believed him," Callie pauses, and her fingers find my arm, sliding down until mine meet her, and laces her fingers through mine. I don't pull my hand away from hers, my skin is still tingling from where her touch was before. "I know this sounds really stupid and everything, but sometimes I just wonder you know? Why people say they love somebody."

I'm silent for a few minutes, and I want to look away from her gaze, but I can't bring myself to it. Without thinking, I push some hair behind her ear. "He didn't deserve you anyways." I tell her, and she smiles.

"More like I didn't deserve him, B. People deserve somebody a lot better than me."

I don't answer her at first, pushing the memories of Lou out of my head. "Who told you that? Wyatt?"

Callie just shrugs, biting her lip. "No, but other people have. My Foster Fathers. Or mothers, anyone besides my family."

"Talya told that you don't deserve him?"

"They dated for a while, so I guess I could understand why she said that."

"Because she's delusional, that's why."

My words bring a small smile to her face, and I can't help but smile myself. "Like Taylor Swift." Callie says quietly, and I laugh.

"Yeah, like Taylor Swift. Expect she's a Weasley."

"Same thing."

I close my eyes, remembering the last time Lou and I were happy around each other. It consisted of a very important discussion about Harry Potter. "You're a better kisser." I tell her without thinking, and Callie doesn't say anything at first.

She doesn't seemed fazed by the fact that it was day we actually met, recognition flashes across her face, but she doesn't say anything at first. Callie looks back at me, "Well, I would hope so."

"That's not the only thing you're good at," I say quickly, due to the coldness in her words. "You're good at math and play the guitar."

Callie looks at me, "Sometimes I wonder if things would be different if we didn't meet in the back of a police car."

Her words bring a smile to my face. Things wouldn't be that different. At least that's what I think. In the end, I would have probably ended up here because it's a good house. But if I didn't, I feel like we would meet each other more normally, like bumping into each other at school or having to work together for a project.

It does not matter how I met her. I am happy that I did meet her.

"I don't think would've made a difference," I tell her quietly, closing my eyes. "I'd probably still end up here."

I can tell Callie smiles, and with out thinking, I kiss her. It could be because I felt like I needed to kiss her before I go crazy. Or because I had no idea what to do anymore. Callie surprises me when she kisses me back, pulling at my hair.

Her lips are soft against mine, like they were a year ago, and when she does start to pull away, I move mine against hers desperately. As stupid as it sounded, I wanted this. So bad. But it's something I can never have, no matter how much I fight for it.

My hands slide up her back, and she still doesn't stop me. But she should. I need her to stop me, so I don't do something that both of us will end up regret.

"Brandon." Callie says, and I pull away from her.

"Sorry," I say quickly, shaking my head. "I didn't mean to, I- sorry." I turn around, my back facing her. I can't look at her. Not after I did that, if I do, I'll end up kissing her again.

Callie doesn't say anything else, even though I was hoping that she would say something, anything. But what she does next is better than words. Her fingers brush gently against mine like they did minutes ago, and I take her small hand in mine.


	8. Chapter 8

Callie alarm clock goes off, and I groan, reaching out to hit the snooze button. I don't want to get up today. I don't want to go to school today. It's friday. I should just skip school but I know that Stef and Lena would never let me do that.

My hand is still linked with Callie, and I'm surprised that even while we were asleep, I was still holding her hand. I kissed her last night. I know that I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't help it, not after everything that happened last night.

Callie won't tell anybody about that, right? Hopefully she won't. I can hear everybody else moving around the house, the water starts and I know that Mariana has probably claimed all the hot water. Again, and the loud heavy footsteps down the stairs is Jesus, wanting the first bit of breakfast.

And here I am, holding Callie's hand while she's asleep. Usually, she's the first one to react to her alarm. I let go of her hand, and swing my legs over the end of her bed, grabbing the first pair of clothes I see. Which happens to be the Nike clothes we argued about.

It seemed impossible that I told myself everyday that I hated Callie. But I know why I did it. So I wouldn't end up worrying about her. It hasn't worked that well very far.

Callie starts shifting, and I know that she's waking up. I put on the purple Nike shirt, and look over at Callie.

"Good morning." I tell her, picking up my backpack that I threw into the corner.

"Morning," She grumbles, and I can't help but smile. "Surprised you're awake before me."

"Mariana got first shower," I inform her. "Again."

Callie just shrugs. "She always does. Won't surprise me when there's no hot water at all," She looks over at her alarm clock. "Shit! I need to get read-"

"You're not coming to school today, remember?"

Callie suddenly relaxes, falling back onto her pillow. She could be the reason why Sarah comes home. Or doesn't. No, she is the reason, but she wanted me to trust her. I can do that, right? Callie knows what she's doing. Callie seems to know exactly what l'm thinking because she gives me a small comforting smile. "I'll make sure she comes back, B. I promise that she will."

I can only nod, thinking over her words. I'm used to people breaking the promises that they make me, but Callie is different. How she actually seems to care about me. "I believe you."

Stef starts yelling, telling Callie that she has to get ready for court, and I sigh, looking at her. "Wait, how'd you guys get a date so fast?" I ask, Sarah was taken yesterday, and they're going today.

"Talk to Olmsteads," Callie says, shrugging. "When they showed up, moms started arguing with them at first, saying that they're fostering you two. It didn't really work out and they called."

I don't say anything at first, but I nod. It doesn't surprise me at all, they're one of those family that thinks money can get them everything they want. Or need. Sometimes, I guess it's okay if is so you can spend time with your family, but they use it to try and send Liam away to college. Liam. "Is he gonna be there?"

Callie just looks at me, and I sigh, knowing that she won't give me an answer, no matter how many times I ask her. "I'll go. You need to get ready."

I close the door behind me, and Jesus comes running up the stairs, screaming for Mariana. I sigh, shaking my head at him. Typical. The mornings are always filled with screaming from the twins . Jude comes out of his room, and I look at him awkwardly. "Sleep good, bud?"

Jude just shrugs, and goes downstairs. Well, I think that went well. For us at least. We never talk to each other. I lean against Callie's closed door, and I hear her voice through the wood. "Are you just standing there?"

"Wha- uh, no I was just..." I trail off, realizing that I was waiting for her. It's a habit I have, in the bad foster homes, I'd stay out of Sarah and mine room most of the time to make sure that she was safe inside the room while I dealt with them. If they were drunk or whatever. "I don't know, I used to do this with Sarah."

Callie opens the door, and I almost fall over, and she looks at me. "Sorry, I didn't kn-"

"It's fine," I tell her quickly, starting down the stairs. "I shouldn't been there anyways."

By now, Callie and I would already be arguing over something simple as who was taking longer, or something like Talya or Wyatt. I know that Callie is surprised, and I know that I'll end up saying something that'll make us start fighting. Again.

Stef starts yelling again, telling us to hurry up. I follow Callie down the stairs. Lena is the first one to see me, and she laughs. "Stef, he's actually wearing something besides his shirt and jeans."

"Surprise, uh?" I say, grabbing the box of Cheerios as Stef and Lena watch me. They don't say anything, and I feel awkward. Are they really that surprised? Maybe it's the fact that I seem to be in a good besides for the fact that Sarah isn't here.

Callie sits down next to me as Stef and Lena are still watching me carefully, like they expect me to crack any moment and get angry.

"So, uh, Brandon, we just want you to know that Sarah might not come back today."

I don't answer. Do we really have to talk about this now? I really don't want to, it'll just make me think about it even more. I look over at Callie, who avoids my gaze. "Okay." I finally say.

Stef and Lena seem relived by my reaction, and I'm surprised that I am still calm about this. "Is he going to be there?"

"What? Who?"

"Liam. Is he going to be there?" I ask again, telling myself to stay calm. It won't make a difference if I loose my temper now. Stef and Lena look at each other, and I know the answer, they're trying to find a way to sugar coat it.

"I want to come." I tell them, and they all look at me like I'm crazy.

"Excuse me?"

"I want to come. If he's going to be there, I want to come," I say. I should be there if he is. I know that he wouldn't try anything inside the actually courtroom, but outside? I can't trust Stef and Lena that much yet, but I can trust whatever Callie does. "You can handcuff me if you're afraid that I'm gonna do something. I just wanna be there."

Stef seems to think it over, looking at me as if to see if I'm lying to her, but I don't see a point in that. She'll be able to tell if I am. "No."

I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. "She's my sister. I should be able to come, Stef," I look at Lena, knowing that she'll be more sensitive. "Lena, please. You would do the same for Callie, wouldn't you?"

I feel bad for comparing myself to Callie. I'm far from her, and it surprises all three of them when I ask her that. Lena face soften, and she looks over at Callie, almost as if all of this is for Callie.

"The answer is still no." Stef says, and I groan as they walk out of the kitchen.

Callie looks at me, and I know what she wants me to do. To act like nothing wrong. That I am gonna go to school like a normal teenager, to act like there's no worries. But I can't do that, not when I know that Liam is officially going to be there. Stef and Lena disappear, probably to see what is taking everybody else so long.

"What are you going to do?" Callie asks quietly, and I smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You're obviously going to come up with something so you can come with us."

I only shrug. "And your moms would kill me if I did. I think I wanna live for a while longer."

We sit together silently until Lena starts to come back in. "Callie, have you seen my car keys?"

"No," Callie answers as Lena walks out just as fast as she came in, looking at me. "You took moms car keys?"

I shrug, grabbing my backpack. "I need to go to school, Callie. See you later." Callie just watches me at I walk out of the kitchen, and I'm about to walk out the front door when Stef stops me.

"Hand them over."

"What? I'm just trying to go to school like you want me, Stef." I hold my hands up to show her that I don't have anything with me besides my backpack. I know that she won't believe me, but it was still a good try. Besides this is what I wanted to happen.

"The keys, Brandon. Now."

I sigh, and take the keys out of my pocket. "Happy? I have them. Now can I go?"

"We need the keys."

"And I want to come with you guys. I have the keys, so you kinda have to let me come."

Stef sighs, and looks over at Lena and Callie, who are standing a few feet behind her. Lena seems like she could care less if I come or not, and I can tell that Callie is trying not to laugh. "Let him come, Stef. It won't be that bad."

I smile at what Lena says and I put the keys into Stef's open hand. "You can't come dressed like that, Brandon." Stef tells me, clearly annoyed.

"It's all I have." I tell her, and she sighs, looking at Lena like I'm going to kill you.

"Just let him come like that," Lena says, pushing me out the door. "Or we're gonna be late."

* * *

I don't know what I expected when I walked into the room. Liam standing next to his parents, staring at us, the anger clear in his face. Not Liam's eyes to be red and his face stained with tears, Sarah sitting next to him.

Callie notices my sudden change in mood, and she grabs my arm. "It's Liam," She whispers into my ear. "He wants you to get mad at him."

"You're right," I whisper back, not able to look away from him, watching him carefully. "It's _Liam_. A guy who is a complete asshole and doesn't get what he deserves, Callie. We both know what he did to you and Sarah." I say roughly, and it doesn't surprise Callie.

"Brandon, I know you're mad at him. But you can't change what's in the past. Or protect both of us from it."

"But I can from what's happening now and-"

Stef looks at us, and I know that she wants me to shut up more than anything else, and I sit down next to Callie before Stef and Lena sit down, knowing it'd be the safest thing for me to do.

I don't pay much attention, since I'm basically the third wheel in this situation. No matter what I do or say will matter today. At least that's what I thought until The Lawyer a starts asking questions. Callie might not realize, but I know a lot about her. More than I probably should.

"And why do you think that Stef and Lena should be able to foster Sarah?" The Lawyer asks, and I want to stand up and say something, or do something.

Callie looks back at me before she answers his question. "Because Stef and Lena are safer than the Olmsteads." Callie eventually answers, as if they're going to hurt her. And in the end, maybe they will.

"Why would you say that?" Stef sitting next to me makes me refrain from walking up to where Callie is and punch him in the face.

I know that this is the question that Callie wanted to avoid, or any questions that would still lead to the same thing. Telling them about what Liam did to her.

"They.. It's not the safest place for a girl like Sarah," Callie looks over at Liam, who is still keeping up his act. Bullshit. "Brandon and Jesus would never take advantage of her."

I look at my sneakers, not wanting everybody to look at me. They all know where I've been. It doesn't help with what Callie is saying.

"So you're saying that Liam is not safe, even after Brandon beat him up for no reason?"

Stef knows that the question is about to throw me over the edge, and I can feel her hand on my arm. _It wasn't for no reason_, I think, wishing that I can say it to the guy. _He pushed me to far._

I'm surprised when I hear the anger in Callie's voice, and even more surprised when she speaks calmly. "That wasn't for no reason. Brandon had every right, he was just protecting Sarah."

"How do you know that?"

"Look, I'm not a Brandon know it all, okay? I don't know a lot about him. I don't understand him, and I don't think any of us will be able to understand him. But, you have to believe me when I say he was just protecting her that day," Callie takes a deep breath before she goes on. "Because Liam raped Sarah. She's not the only one that he has done something that to them. He's done the same to me."

Everybody is quiet, and I look over at Liam who has finally given up on his acting, and his face is red with anger as Sarah looks at me, and I can see the fear in her eyes. And I can't tell if it's because of Liam or me, but I have a feeling that it's because of both of us.

The next thing that I know is that Stef is pulling me to my feet, and I can't read her face. "Don't worry, Honey," She tells me, patting my shoulder. "Sarah's going to come home soon, okay? I promise. I'll arrest Liam myself if I have to."

I can only nod, and she walks away, Callie following her quietly. I want to say something to her, but I don't know what I would say. I don't do good with crying, and I can see tears falling down silently from Callie's eyes.

The car ride home is just as quiet, and Stef has to go to the station, Lena locks herself in her room working on papers, and I follow Callie to her room.

"Callie, look I-"

"You're what?" She demands, shaking her head at me. And I can see why. I would be disappointed with myself too. "You're sorry? Well, it doesn't matter anymore! They know the truth now right? About you, that's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Yeah, and I ju-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Brandon!" She tells me, raising her voice, throwing her hands in the air. "They all know the truth about me too, and I hate it! This was for you and yo-"

"I'm sorry!" I shout, not caring if Lena hears. "Okay? I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I ruin your life! That Liam did something horrible to you! And I'm sorry that you had to do that for me! You could've just lied or something, so you can't blame it all on me!"

"No, Brandon, I couldn't! It was either lie and Sarah stays with them or tell the truth so you can see her again!"

I run my fingers through my hair angrily, trying to stay calm. "Goddammit, Callie! Can't you just shut up and listen to me for once? I'm sorry that you had to tell them that, okay? But stop acting like this is my fault because _you_ made that choice, not me! And I know is sucks about what Liam did to you!"

Callie bites her lip. "I-"

I don't wait for her to finish, and instead I take her face in my hands and kiss her, still able to taste the saltiness of her tears from minutes before. At first she doesn't do anything, and I mentally curse myself. We were just talking about _Liam_. What the hell is wrong with me?

Callie doesn't push me away, instead she wraps her arms around my neck and pull me closer to her, kissing me back harder. I want to say something. Scratch that, I _should_ say something.

Without thinking, I press her back against her bedroom door, kissing her harder. All I can think is that I shouldn't be doing this, not only for me, but for Callie. But at the same time, a voice in the back of my head keeps telling me to do this.

Her fingers pull at my hair, causing a small moan to escape me. Fuck. Out of all of the people that made me weak, it was Callie. Where we'll be fighting one minute and getting along the next. The thought makes me smile against her lips. Lou and I were like this before.

I grip her hips, pulling her towards me, pressing our bodies together, and this time, a moan escapes Callie's lips. Callie's hands left my hair, and are traveling down my back. Until she tugs at the hem of my shirt.

Suddenly I pull away from her, shaking my head. This is wrong. Me. Her. Us together. It'll end up the same way, I'll end up doing something that ruins it all. She was just crying about Liam, and here I am pressing her up against the wall. Smooth move, Brandon.

"Move," I say roughly, and Callie looks at me in shock. If it's because of my actions or hers, I can't tell. But I know that she knows that this is wrong. That there's a change that I am like Liam. Callie still hasn't moved. "Now!" I say sharply, and she finally moves, sitting on the edge of her bed.

I don't bother to look at her, just throw open her door the same time Lena comes out of her room, "What's going on? Why all the yelling?"

"Let's just say that your daughter shouldn't be around me, okay?" I tell her louder than I intended, running my fingers through my hair. "I remind her of him." I don't know if Lena notices anything. Like my hair before I storm down the stairs, slamming the front door behind me.

"Idiot," I mutter to myself, walking down the sidewalk. Kissing Callie twice. I was stupid enough to kiss her last night too. Why can't I make a good decision for once in my life? Callie will only end up getting hurt because of me. Because of what I do. Callie and I don't even fit together. I pull out the phone Stef and Lena gave me, debating if I should call him. Maybe he hasn't changed his number. I punch it in, and wait impatiently for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Vico?"


	9. Chapter 9

I can hear the smile in his voice when he talks again. "Brandon? Oh man, it's been such a long time! How long have you been out?"

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, sitting on the edge of the side walk. "About two months. I'm in deep shit though, man. You gotta come." I tell him, looking down at the crack in the road. I could end things with him today, tell him that I'm done with the deal no matter what, but I can't bring myself to say anything.

"Dude, I don't even know where you are," He chuckles and I hear more people in the background. "It would be helpful if you told me."

I sigh again, shaking my head at myself. This isn't what I wanted. I don't need him to come over, I just need to tell him that I don't want anything to do with him anymore. "I'm just sitting here, man. I'm a few blocks away from the hospital."

Vico comes in his rusty truck faster than I expected, a huge smile on his face as he stops in front of me. "Man, you look good," He eyes me as I stand up, poking his head through his open window. "Who was it?"

"What?" I ask, standing up, opening the door and sitting in the passenger seat.

"The girl, man. Looks like you two were having fun."

For some reason the idea of Vico talking about Callie like that angers me, even though I know he doesn't know who she is. He used to talk about Lou like this. "I kissed my foster sister." I tell him blankly.

Vico raises an eyebrow as he starts to drive again, shaking his head. "It looks like you did a lot more than that. Made out at the very least," When I don't reply he goes on. "Is she hot? Like hotter than Lou?"

My hand ball into fists, and I look out the window, not wanting to look at him. Or answer him. "You don't talk about Lou," I say, trying to contain my anger. "She wasn't just some toy, you know."

"You're still not over her? Brandon, she died a year ago. Move on already, will you?"

I shake my head, looking over at him only to see that he lit up a cigarette. "What do you think I've been trying to do? I just can't, okay? Not when Callie reminds me of her!"

"Does this girl- Callie so happen to be the chick you kissed?" I don't answer him, my anger only growing, and he notices, handing me his pack. "Lou is dead, man. Dead. Get over her. Become a player or something. Or keep going to this Callie girl."

I shake my head, much quicker than I probably needed too. "No, I'm not doing that. She has a boyfriend," Well she did. But I know that she's going to get back with Wyatt. Why wouldn't she? "And she's my foster sister. I can't do that."

"That didn't stop you from going into Lou's room every night when you guys were foster siblings."

"She came into _my_ room. Callie's different though, man. I don't know why, but she's different." I tell him, grabbing the lighter from the cup holder and quickly light up the cigarette that I was holding between my lips. I never really smoked before, no matter how many times Vico had offered me, and I know that I surprised him.

"You smoke too now?" I ignore him, taking a long drag from the cigarette as my reason, and ignore the feeling to cough. I hear Vico sigh as he focuses on the road again, shaking his head. "What is it with you hooking up with your foster sisters?"

"We didn't hook up," I tell him, playing with the cigarette. "I only kissed her, that's a difference."

"Tell me more."

I groan, knowing that there's no way that I didn't have a choice. "We sleep in the same room," I blurt, mentally cursing myself for saying it as soon as it comes out of my mouth. "Sarah didn't want to share a room with me, so I have to share a with her."

"You and Callie?"

"Yeah." I say simply, shrugging.

Vico stops at the red light, looking at me, completely serious. "You're telling me that you've been sharing a room with some hot chick and still haven't hooked up with her? What the hell? Just fuck her already."

I roll my eye at his words, and run my fingers through my hair, thinking about changing the subject, but I don't. "I don't want to, man. She's too nice to hook up with."

"I miss the old Brandon. You used to hook up with every girl you saw until you met Lou. And now this Callie chick?"

"That was before Lou."

"And you said that there was something different about Lou, and what's so different about Callie?"

I run my fingers through my hair, hating what was going through my mind. Lou died asking for me, and here I am about to tell Vico all most everything about Callie that is better than Lou. "She... Man, I told you that I don't know."

Vico laughs shaking his head. "You know that I don't believe your bullshit, man. Tell the truth."

"Why do you want to know so much about Callie anyways?" I ask, and when he doesn't answer, and I sigh, knowing exactly what he meant by not answering. It doesn't even surprise me that he would want to try to sell her a fake I.D. I already know that she wouldn't want one, so I end up answering his question. "Callie... S-she's _better_ than Lou."

Vico doesn't even bother to hide his surprise. "S-she's what?" He asks, and I regret even saying that. "Dude, you were like in love with Lou. You basically got arrested of her, and you're sitting here telling me that you like this chick more that Lou?"

"I can't help it," I say quietly. "Callie's a lot like Lou but then at the same time... she isn't. If that makes sense, Man." Vico doesn't answer, causing my to sigh. Callie being better than Lou? It suprised me just as much as it suprised him. It seems impossible, but it's the truth. Callie is better than Lou. In more than just one way.

"So you love her or something, man?"

I laugh, and shake my head. "I can't. I'm just gonna end up hurting her. Even if I did, she hates me." I tell him, remembering the look on her face right after I kissed her. She seemed shocked, but I know what she was really feeling. She was mad at me. Hating the fact that I could confuse her. I hated her for the same reason, more than that too.

"Whatever, dude. You're still hung up from Lou."

I don't disagree with that. "I know that I am."

"How 'bout you go to a party tonight. Bring her sister or something."

"I'm good thanks. I'm already in enough trouble."

But judging by the look on his face, I don't have at choice to what I get to do tonight.

"Hey Lena?" I say, Vico following me through the front door, despite me telling him to wait in the car.

Lena is in the kitchen, talking to Mariana as Callie watches me carefully. I'm guessing she didn't tell Lena what I did. "This is my friend Vico," I tell her, pushing Vico in front of me. "He wanted to meet you."

Vico glares at me, but turns his attention to Lena, giving her a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

I can see Mariana eyeing Vico, and I smile. It doesn't really surprise me. Vico was the one who got checked out by the girls. I was just the guy following him around. "It's nice to meet you, Vico. I'm Lena. Would you like to stay for dinner, it's almost ready. Everybody else will be home soon."

"I-uh, I was actually wondering if Brandon and your daughters could hang out with us tonight. Brandon and I were just going to hang out at my place. Watch a few movies." Vico tells her awkwardly, and Callie looks at me again, silently asking me why.

I just shrug, and Marinana hops off the counter. "I'll hang out with you guys!" She says quickly, looking at Callie. "Come on Callie. Please?"

"I don't plan on babysitting you tonight."

"Callie," Lena says. "You're going to be with Brandon. Not going to a party."

Callie sighs, "Fine." She says, giving in, and I smile at her.

"We'll be home by eleven." I call over my shoulder, leading Callie and Mariana out the door before Callie ends up changing her mind. Mariana looks at me.

"Are we really going to be at his house or going to a party?"

"Party," I say quietly, hoping that Callie doesn't hear me. "But of you say one word to Callie, you're dead."

Mariana seems to happy to care or hear what I tell her, and she gets in the back of Vico's truck, happier than I expected her to be. I sit in the shotgun seat again, and Vico smiles, looking at Callie in the review mirror.

I can't help but get angry at the fact that he's even looking at her. He's not the one who knows Callie, I am. I'm the one who understands her. "Don't look at her like that." I say quietly, only for him to hear.

Vico smirks, pulling out of the driveway. "I thought you didn't like her, man."

I'm about to tell him that I do like her, that I don't need to deal with him looking at her when there's still Liam too think about, but I stop myself, knowing that I'm like Liam and that it won't make a difference.

"So is there anything cool about you?" Mariana asks, directing it towards Callie, who just looks at her like she's ready to kill her.

"Not really," Vico answers, looking at me. "Besides the fact that I live alone. And that Brandon here is like my brother."

The rest of the ride is an awkward silence, and nobody has the heart to break it. Until you could hear the music from a block away, and I know Callie is mad.

I look back at her, and she still doesn't say anything, just looks back at me, clearly disappointed. I want to say sorry, not even just for the party, for everything. For the court. For Liam. For _me_.

The moment Vico stops driving, Mariana gets out, and I figured that she's the one who actually does parties. Or likes them at least. Vico just smiles at me as he follows her into the house.

"Are you gonna stay in there all night?" I ask Callie, who is still sitting in the back seat.

Callie looks at me, and groans. "No, I can't. Because I need to make sure that my sister doesn't get drunk."

I chuckle, running my fingers through my hair. "Good luck with that, Callie. Everybody here is already drunk."

"Good, then you can take care of her."

I don't answer, just take her hand, pulling her out of the car. "Have some fun for once, will you?" I whisper into her ear. "It's not going to hurt if you do."

Callie grumbles something, but starts walking towards the house, clearly pissed off at me. And just to make _my_ day worse, Wyatt comes up to us. "Hey Callie. Brandon."

I don't say anything, instead I just watch him carefully. He's not drunk yet, but he's definitely going to be in the next thirty minutes or so. "Callie, I was- I just want things to be normal between us again," He smiles, and I have to stop myself for reaching over for Callie. "Think about it, please."

He disappears just as fast as he came.

The music and shouts of drunken teenagers seem to grow quite as I press Callie's back against the wall, her hands resting on my chest, in an attempt to push me away, but I her eyes I can tell she already knows it's useless, and that I wasn't going anywhere.

I thought that since Sarah likes it at her house, I could be able to keep my distance from Callie, but here, in a house full of drunk horny teenagers, it seemed almost impossible. Nobody here would remember see us like this to do anything to get us kicked out of the Fosters household. It doesn't matter though, right? Sarah isn't even with them right now.

It didn't help at the fact that she was wearing a tank top. My eyes meet her brown ones, and somebody bumps into me, which only causes me to get closer to her, her face a few inches from mine, I can feel her heartbeat against my chest, and her breath on my face.

"Are you scared of me?" I ask her, licking my lips. Her face or eyes don't show any sign of her being scared of me, but when she answers me, I know she is, the way her heart starts beats faster when she slowly says, "No."

I can't help but smirk, it was too easy. To tell she was lying even though she hid it, she always hides her emotions well, but me, I've spent my entire life trying to figure out people emotions. I'm able to read them no matter how hard people try to hide them. "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not," Callie tells me, not able to meet my eyes. "Now, I need to find Mariana." She's not aware of how close we are, or we are closer than she thought. I can tell that she didn't notice that her hands hand moved from my chest, but they're pulling at the hem of my shirt. "I am not scared of you." She tells me firmly, and before I can control myself, bury my face in her neck, my lips making contact with her skin, pressing her back against the wall. I think about how Wyatt was talking to her moments before, how I overheard him asking if thing between them can get back to normal.

"Do you still like him?" I ask, before I gently kiss her neck again, my hands finding her waist underneath her shirt, the fabric ridding up her back. And I feel her shiver.

"W-what? Who?"

I smirk to myself, knowing that I was jumbling up her thoughts, and I move my body slightly closer to hers, my lips finding the skin just below her ear, sucking gently. Her fingers move to my shoulders, her breathing hitching. I travel closer to her shoulders again, sucking on the crook of her neck, and her fingers find my hair.

"Brandon..." I can tell that she's still not fully aware if her actions, not when she pulls me closer to her as I start to pull away, or how she whispers my name in my ear, almost making me shiver, or how one of her hands has started down my back underneath my shirt. I tense up at first, but then I relax, pressing my body against hers.

Her fingers are in my hair again, tugging at it. I know what she wants, but keep my face buried in the crook of her neck, gripping her waist tighter. I kiss her neck again, and I hear her whisper my name, tugging at my hair. This time, I pull away from her neck, looking at her.

Callie's brown eyes meet mine, and I can't help but stare at her. I thought that she would say something, like that she can't do this, but instead she kisses me, her lips warm and soft. I kiss her back gently, surprised by Callie's actions, but I shouldn't be kissing her. I pull away, but Callie quickly closes the gap, moving her lips against mine desperately.

I couldn't be weak because of Callie, she was the one who is weak because of me. That's how it's always been. Callie doesn't stop me as my hands go underneath her shirt, traveling up her back. I feel her shiver as her fingers tug at my hair. Her skin is warm against mine, and Lou crosses my mind, her smile, her warmth. Before I lost her.

Suddenly, I pull away from Callie, shaking my head at doing something so stupid. Of course I want Callie, it's hard to not want her, not with the way she shows that she cares about me, but I can't want her. It's not like I just want her for sex or anything, I actually want her. To be one of the people in the world who knows things about her that most people don't. Or just to know what's like to care about her. In the end, I'll be the reason why she gets hurt.

Like I was the reason for Lou's death. Callie looks confused, but I ignore it. I turn around, and start pushing my way through the teenagers, leaving her alone, and I can feel her eyes on me as leave the room, wanting to disappear from her sight. Wishing with everything I have, that she would look away, wishing that she would see what everybody else saw. That in the end, I'll always be the reason why she gets hurt.


	10. Chapter 10

I don't stop moving through the crowd. This has to be the biggest party I've been to in a while. Who's house it is, I don't know. Hopefully they're up for the job of cleaning up after. Without thinking, I open the first door I see, which appears to be the bathroom.

Talya is in here, just sitting on the edge of the bathtub. Completely wasted. "Oh! Hey!" She pauses, looking confused as she looks at me. "I know you! You're Brandon!" I let out a nervous laugh, and take the red cup in her hand, dumping it down the sink. "Yeah, that's me," I say, making sure that the cup is out of her reach as she tries to reach for it, and I feel bad. "Is anybody here with you?" I ask, even though I know that it's useless; she's wasted.

"Gimme my drink." Talya slurs, and I sigh, throwing the cup behind me.

"No," I say, sitting down next to her, not sure of what else I should do. "If I do give it to you, you're gonna get a lot more drunk and make a fool of yourself."

Talya just shrugs, leaning against the tile. "I did that last year," She says quietly and so seriously, that for a few seconds I thought that she was sober. "Callie stood up for me... and I still do horrible shit to her."

I know that Callie and Talya don't get along, but I always thought is was just because they can't stand each other, not because Talya made fun of her or something. I don't answer at first, staring at my hands, not knowing what to say. "Why?" I ask, and I mentally slap myself. She's drunk. She's not gonna answer any of my questions.

"I... I don't know. But I remember the first time I saw her at anchor beach. She was beat up, like you were. Not as bad, but she was... Jesus and Mariana where showing her around and everything. Then I just did it you know? I just started being mean to her- and I don't know, Brandon," Talya stops talking, but I've heard enough. I don't want to hear anything else about Callie being treated the wrong way. "She was at a party one night with Mariana and Wyatt. She offered to take me home and everything but I didn't go with her. Then the next week it was all over school and everything. Callie was the only one who stood up for me."

I still don't say anything, my thoughts of leaving her suddenly disappearing and I have no fucking clue why. "Callie is a good person."

Talya lets out a halfhearted laugh, shaking her head. "And I'm a terrible person. I know Callie is a good person. I'm just fucked up."

I look over at her, and I shake my head, leaning against the opposite side of the wall, looking at her. What was the point of getting drunk if she's just going to tell people the truth? The things she would never say when she's sober. "You aren't a terrible person," I say slowly, running my fingers through my hair. "You're a good person."

Talya looks at me, "Are you insane?"

"Look," I feel so stupid that I'm talking to her like she's going to remember any of this. "There's good people who do bad things and there's bad people who do good things. What matters- it's more of what you want to do that makes you good or bad."

Talya looks confused, and I sigh. "For starters, I'm a terrible person. I want to be a jerk to Callie. But then at the same time I want to be nice to her. But I'm still an asshole."

"But you're nice to me. I mean, look at me. I'm a mess."

"I'm a mess too." I tell her, and it's the truth. I have no control over my life, no choice at all. I just let things happen, and that's the worst way to live.

"No you aren't. You haven't hurt anybody."

Lou. I hurt Lou. More than once, I hurt her over and over again, no matter how many times I told her that I wasn't going to do it again. And she still trusted me. "Yeah I have," I say quietly, looking away from her. "You could say that I basically killed somebody."

Talya doesn't answer, instead she just stares at me, and I start to feel awkward, still looking at my shoes. After what seems forever, she does talk again. "That doesn't matter. You didn't do the killing, you just feel like that."

I'm suddenly on my feet, shaking my head. "No, you're wrong. About me. About Lou. About Callie. I hurt them. That's all I do, Talya. Even if I don't want to, that's what I do. I hurt them. And- you, I don't even know why I bother. You're drunk. Callie is a lot better than you."

Then I'm out the door, slamming it behind me. I need to find Callie and Mariana. Vico would care less when he finds out that I left him here alone. More people are here. Only adds up to the chances of something bad happening before I can find Mariana or Callie. My phone. Or more like the phone Stef and Lena gave me. I should call Callie, but I decide against it, pushing somebody out oh my way, causing him to stumble. Everybody looks at me shocked, but I ignore it, shaking my head.

I need to find Mariana. And Callie. I want to find Callie first, but I know that she won't talk to me unless I find Mariana first. Where would Mariana be anyways? Drunk, probably. But not high, right? I can't see Mariana as getting high, but there's a first time for everything.

Maybe Mariana is drunk enough to come find me, if that's even possible. Mariana would probably want to stay here all night if she could. I run my fingers through my hair, tugging at it. I just have to be such an idiot. Always walking away from things. The good ones.

"Brandon!" I expect it to be Talya calling me, and I sigh. Just my luck. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I turn around only to see Callie.

"I'm looking for Mariana. Go wait in car." I say quickly, shoving Vicos car keys into her hands, already looking away. It would be easier to just forget about all of this.

"What? Why- she's my sister, I should be looking fo-"

My eyes dart to the bulky figure leaning against the wall, running his fingers through his blonde hair, his blue eyes looking right at me.

"Callie, Liam is here," I whisper into her ear, grabbing her arm, pulling her down the stairs. "Get in the car, and I'll look for Mariana. Now."

I know that Callie won't do anything that I tell her too, no matter how desperate I am, and I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. "If you want to help, don't go anywhere I can't see you. I need to see you so I know you're safe, okay?"

Callie nods, and I can tell that she's shocked that I didn't yell at her, for being so difficult. To be honest, I'm thankful for her being stubborn for once. I don't need her running off, especially with Liam near. Who knows what he wants.

I follow Callie, who seems to know the house well, looking back at me every few minutes, just to make sure that I'm here. I told her that I wouldn't leave without her, didn't I? Callie should know that I meant it.

Callie stops so suddenly, and I run into her. "Hey, Calli-"

"Shut up, Brandon, just shut up!" Callie says loudly, not even bothering too look at me, and I groan, shaking my head. I didn't do anything. At least not right now. I look over too see what she's looking at, and see Mariana with some guy. "This is why I don't go to parties! Everybody decides to play games with me!"

"Callie, Mariana is drunk. So what?"

"Oh my god. Moms are going to kill me. Of course this happens to Mariana. Stef is gonna hate me. I'm dead. This is bad."

I don't see why Callie is freaking out, and I run my fingers through my hair. "Callie, calm down. Teenagers get drunk. I'll get her, okay?"

Mariana yells in my ear when I lift her up easily. "Hey Callie!" She says happily, early not noticing the terrified look on her face, and I feel horrible. I shouldn't have called Vico in the first place. I should have stayed and talked things through with Callie. That would have been easier. "You know, you're cute when you're worried."

I look down at Mariana, surprised that she was talking to me. "Wait... put me down. I- I gotta walk."

"I'm not putting you down," I say as Callie opens the door, and I never been so happy in my life to leave a party. "You can barely talk. You can get hurt if I let you walk, and I'll get in trouble."

"Where's Vico's car?" Callie asks, and I'm just confused as she is when I don't see his rusty truck.

"He's an asshole, we're gonna have to walk home."

"Or we can call my moms." I know Callie is that desperate when she says that.

"And I'll end up in a cage again. No, we're walking home. That's it. It'll give her time to feel better a little bit anyways."

Callie groans, and I know that she hates me even more, that this is at the bottom on the list if why she does. Top of this list is probably even living her.

"Maybe you should let her walk."

"Your moms are going to be asleep by the time we get home, it won't make a difference. Besides, she fell asleep." I tell Callie, already walking down the street, cursing myself for doing something so stupid. I should fix this, but right now I can't. Not without making things worse between us.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day, it's clear that Mariana is hangover. I should've known that my luck wasn't going to last, seeing that we got home without anybody noticing or waking up.

Mariana didn't take the aspirin that I left on the dresser next to her, and I have no idea why. As she sits down at the table, everybody looks at me. It's always the foster kid fault. This time, it actually is.

I don't say anything, I just look away awkwardly, playing with the food on my plate. Stef and Lena still don't say anything about the way she stumbled into the kitchen, and to be honest I'm surprised. Stef would usually be mad at something like this. Right now, she basically is a timed bomb but I have no clue when she will go off.

Callie hasn't said anything to me, and I look over at her, only to notice a small bruise on her collarbone.

I did that to her. I should've stopped when she tried to push me away.

That's my fault, I think, shaking my head at myself. I left marks on her like Liam did to her. Unwanted marks.

Looking back on it, I don't even hate the fact that I'm attracted to her, instead I hate the fact that I didn't stop when she wanted me too. Callie tried pushing me away before I even did anything too her, and I just kept going.

Like the asshole Liam is.

Suddenly I throw down my fork onto the plate in front of me, standing up so quickly that the chair slides a few inches behind me. "I'm going up stairs to pack my bag."

Everybody is looking at me again, clearly confused, and I don't say anything, just start up the stairs, slamming Callie's door behind me, flinching at how loud it is.

I don't have much to pack. Just money and the clothes Callie forced me to get. The memory makes me smile, and I shake my head as I stuff everything into my bag.

The door opens, and I jump. Stef is standing less than two feet away from me, and to be honest, it terrifies me. Who knows what she'll do.

"Why are you packing?" Stef asks quietly, sitting on Callie's bed.

"Because I don't deserve to be here, Stef. I'm a horrible person. I hurt people and I don't want to hurt any of you guys." I say quickly, not looking at her.

Stef looks away from me, and I don't know why. Maybe she feels bad, but I highly doubt that she does. She probably agrees with every word that I say, and just doesn't want me to realize that.

But she doesn't sound angry at all when she speaks again. "Come sit," She tells me, patting the space on the bed next too her.

I don't move, instead I cross my arms over my chest, and look at her. I will not sit next to her, and she knows that. Not when there's a possibility of her being mad at me. "Please, Brandon. It would be nice to talk to you."

I give in, sighing as I sit down next to her, and she looks at me. "You think you're a horrible person?"

When I still don't answer, Stef sighs softly, shaking her head. "Can you at least tell me why you think you're a terrible person? Brandon the only thing I see you doing around here is protecting my family when I'm not here. I'm very thankful for that."

Her words have me thinking about Liam lying on the floor and Sarah's terrified expression. Then Lou in the hospital bed with my blood smeared on the glass. "It's the least I can do when I'm here."

"You're staying here, Brandon."

"No, I'm not. The next thing that could happen is that I hurt Callie or Jude a-"

"You don't go around hurting people, I know that you don't, Brandon. You're not like some people in this world. The problem is that the good people think that they're the bad ones."

"I nearly killed Liam!" I tell her, running my fingers through my hair. And Lou, and my father. People get hurt because of me, if I want them to or not. It's something that I can't control. Nobody can.

"Brandon, you had your reasons to do that. I'm not saying that it was the best choice, but it certainly wasn't the worst either. If I was with Callie when it happened to her, I'd probably beat his ass then throw him behind bars."

"Last night I took your daughters out to a party, and look at Mariana."

"That was Mariana choice. I highly doubt that you forced her to drink anything. It's happened more than once, Brandon. You can't blame yourself for things you have no control over."

Stef watches me carefully, and I almost tell her everything that happened last night. At least what happened between Callie and I. How I took advantage of her like he did. I know Stef would get mad at me then. When she realizes what I did to her daughter that has already dealt with enough shit in her life.

"Brandon, it's only been about three months, but I am not going to lie to you. I don't want you to go anywhere because I feel like you're my son," Her words surprise me, and I expect her to be joking, but her expression tells me otherwise. What surprises me even more is when she kisses my cheek before she stands up, stopping in the doorway. "I hope you come back down with us."

I just sit there, running my fingers through my hair. Stef knows exactly how dangerous I can be, and here she is, telling me that she wants me to live with her when she has four other kids and a wife to worry about. I throw my bag into the corner of Callie's room, and start making my way back downstairs as Jesus stares at me angrily.

"I thought you were packing your bag." He says, turning his attention back to his food as I sit down next to Callie.

"I happen to like his company," Stef says, anger now in her voice as she speaks calmly. "Sadly, more then I'm like you're these days, Jesus."

Her words make me smile as Jesus is still staring at me angrily. I look back over at Callie, and my smile disappears. I told her that I would make sure that Liam would never hurt her again, and I hurt her the same why he did. Callie Looks over at me, and gives me a small smile and I notice another bruise on her neck.

Callie's face is unreadable, and I look away from her, not wanting to see what I did to her. Something that she didn't want me too do. Like Liam. Sarah is right. I should've just kept to myself, not talk to Callie at all.

We all sit in silence, and after a few minutes, I feel Callie's fingers brush against mine. I think about pulling my hand away, but it's something we both need, so I take her small hand in mine, favoring the warmth of it.

Jesus is still glaring at me, but I ignore it, telling myself that an angry Jesus is the least of my worries right now. I still need to make sure Sarah comes back, or is at a safe place at least. Then Vico. Tell him that I'm completely done with his bullshit.

Lastly, I need to talk to Callie. The only problem is I have no idea what to say. Or to tell her, for that matter. There's always the option of just say that I was like a normal horny teenager, or I could tell her the truth. About my dad and Lou. Or my mom who basically threw Sarah and I out of our house.

We could just act like nothing happened, like it doesn't matter at all, because in the end, it won't. All the memories and everything, it won't matter. I happened to learn that the hard way. It's still going to hurt.

Callie's room happens to be the only place where I can have peace in the house. And when I happen to want peace, it ends up being when I talk to Callie or both of us are sitting in her room doing nothing, basically.

Right now, both of us lay on her bed, not saying a word. After a few minutes of silence, she starts reading, and I'm still staring at her ceiling, listening to her steady breathing. It surprises me how relaxed she is, to be so close to me, especially after what happened last night. We both know that I clearly heard her when she asked me to stop.

I look over at her, studying the side of her face. The outline of her nose.

"It's not nice to stare." I hear Callie whisper, not bothering to look up from her book for my reaction. I smile at her words, and take the book from her hands, leaning over her to put it on the dresser, more guilt filling me as I look down at her, shifting my body onto hers.

The look in her eyes tell me that she knows exactly what I'm going to do, almost begging me to believe that she trusts me. Being scared and trusting somebody are two different things. At least that's what I think.

I still don't answer her as I reach up and tuck some hair behind her ear. For a few moments, I know she was afraid that I was going to hurt her, hit her. I want to tell her that I would never do that to her, tell her that in the end I could some how end up hurting. But I don't plan on doing that again. Not on purpose, at least.

My fingers trace the bruise on her neck, and I look away from her brown eyes that were staring at me intensely, trying to figure out what my actions would be.

"I'm sorry," I mumble, running my fingers to her collarbone, where the other bruise is. If Stef and Lena noticed, they didn't say anything about it. They probably thought that Wyatt did it. "For being like him. I heard you when you told me to stop. But I didn't. I'm sorry."

Callie doesn't say anything, and I start to move off of her, cursing myself for even doing something like this. Everything about screams Liam to me. But I'm surprised when Callie tugs on the front of my shirt, pulling me to her.

"You didn't hurt me," She says quietly, as if she's reading my thoughts. "He did." Her voice doesn't have the same certainty when she says the last part, and I know she's lying. Not about Liam, but me hurting her. We both know that I have hurt her just as much as he has. In different ways. But it still bothers me.

"Don't lie to me," I mumble, resting my forehead against hers, not caring about what will happen next. "Please don't. I hate it when you do. It only makes me feel worse."

I can tell she smiles softly, "I wasn't lying," Callie says, her lips barely brushing against mine. "Y-you made... me feel good."

Those words are enough to make me feel like that what I did wasn't wrong, and I kiss her gently, my fingers leaving her collarbone, sliding down to her waist, resting on her hip. Callie's fingers find my hair, tugging at it.

"Tell me when you want to stop." I mumble against her lips, only to have her kiss me harder, her hands traveling to my chest, pulling me closer.

"I don't want to right now."

This isn't right. I know this. It's not right, I'll end up getting kicked out and Sarah will be mad. And Callie will get hurt, but it's clear that she doesn't think that. Of course she had to trust me. Out of all the people she can trust, it's me.

I wait for her to push me off of her, to tell me that this isn't right, that we shouldn't be doing this at all, but she does the complete opposite, her arms around my neck.

I pull away from her, not wanting it to go much farther than we already have, knowing that I would only feel bad if she stopped me later.

"You know what?" I ask, both of us breathing heavily. "You're a really good kisser."

Callie laughs, her nose brushing against mine. "Do you tell that to every girl you kiss?"

"Eh, only the ones named Callie," I tell her, kissing her cheek. "But other than that, not really."

I can tell that Callie rolls her eyes, her fingers playing with my hair. "That's good to know," She mumbles as I roll off of her, wrapping my arm around her waist. "I hope that I'm the only girl you know named Callie."

Her hand find mine, and I bury my face in her hair, taking in the sent of lavender. "The only one."

We lay like this for a while, not saying a single thing. To be honest, I don't mind. The people I don't have to say anything around are the best. Because you know that your connection is real, that it matters. That you care and understand each other.

I expected Callie to say something, but the house, which grew quiet after breakfast comes to life. "Where's Callie? And Brandon?" I hear Stef say quickly, worry laced in her words.

Callie looks at me, and I look back at her, tucking hair behind her ear. "You okay?" I ask, noticing her confusion of why Stef would be worried.

"I'm fine," She says quietly, moving out of my grasp. "We should probably move before one of them come in."

Just as she finishes saying that, sitting on the edge of her bed, her door flies open. Stef stands in the doorway, so much worry on her face, that I'm afraid something happened to Jude, we all know how much Callie cares about him.

Stef looks from Callie to me, and I know she suspects something. Her worry quickly turns into anger, and it's clear in her voice. "Both of you downstairs, now!"


	12. Chapter 12

Without waiting for our responses, Stef walks out of the room just as fast as she came in, leaving Callie and I confused. Something is clearly bothering her. And for a second I think that it could be something happening to one of them, but Stef wouldn't be angry. She'd be upset, right?

I follow Callie downstairs, only to see everybody at the table again, and I mentally groan. This is not going to end well.

"Sit," Stef says roughly, looking at Callie and I. We sit down, knowing that it would be a mistake to get in the way of an angry Stef. "I have case at work. I want nobody to leave the house. Don't answer the door, don't pick up the phone. All of you need to stay here, is that understood?"

All of us nod in union, Jesus, Mariana, and Jude just as confused as Callie and I are. Callie looks worried now, almost if she knows exactly what is bothering Stef. Or at least has an idea.

"Good, if anything happens the first person you call is me. Callie and Brandon are in charge." Stef says, and I realize that she's in her uniform. Something must've happened at the station. Lena is probably at school dealing with some papers.

"Is it normal for to be like this?" I ask Callie, who only shrugs.

"No. It's probably nothing though."

"She basically put us on lockdown. Cals, it's something."

Callie shrugs again, and Jesus is still watching me carefully. I stop myself from saying something to him, and Jude asks him if he wants to play video games.

Mariana has already disappeared into her room, leaving Callie and I alone. "I think your brothers hate me."

"Eh, Jude likes you. He thinks you're cool. And Jesus is just an ass to people theses days. Well, expect for Haley."

"I thought Jesus was dating some girl named Emma."

Mariana comes back in, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "They broke up. Haley's his sex buddy."

"Uh, isn't he kinda young for a sex buddy?" I ask, not really bothering to hide my surprise. Jesus is only fifteen and has a sex buddy. Hopefully Jude is not taking after him.

"I have a man whore for a brother. You kinda just get used to it." Mariana says, shrugging as she disappears from the kitchen again, and I laugh, shaking head.

"You have a very strange family." I tell Callie, a smile still on my face.

"Tell me about it," She grumbles, running her fingers through her hair, a small smile on her lips. "I guess that's a good thing sometimes."

"Better then mine, that's for sure," I say, walking out of the kitchen. "Is there anything in your house that we can do? We're on lock down." I tell Callie, officially deciding that we should listen to Stef, which means that Callie and I are in charge.

I can tell that Callie rolls her eyes, "We're not on lock down. And you could always play video games with Jesus and Jude."

"Eh, I'm not one for video games. You know that. How 'bout you play guitar for me." I say, louder then I needed too, and Callie groans.

"How 'bout you play piano for me?" She shoots back, and I know she's not joking. But she should know that I don't play piano anymore. And don't plan on playing it again anytime soon.

"I told you, I'm bad at it," I tell her, and she sighs. "Besides, you always have your nose in a book now. Please?"

Callie sighs again, and I just lay down on her bed, looking at her. "You really wanna hear me play?" She asks, and I nod eagerly like a five year old, grabbing the guitar and putting it in her hands quickly.

Callie sits down on the edge of her bed, and I know that she's debating herself if she should play or not. "We don't have all day, just so you know." I tell her, and she smiles.

It comes naturally. The music, everything basically. Callie has a lot more skill then she let on, and to be honest I'm surprised by how good she sounds when she's playing.

"And you think you aren't good?" I mumble to myself, causing her to look up, and she stops playing.

"What?"

"I can't believe you think you aren't good. Holy shit," I tell her, running my fingers through my hair. "Do you hear yourself? You need to play more often."

"Bu-"

"No. I'm serious yo-"

The door is thrown open, and Mariana stands there, looking at us. "Okay, good. Do you guys wanna watch a movie with us?"

"We're good." I say quickly, and she raises her eyebrow.

"Please. I can't believe moms trust you guys. The sexual tension between you two is a little to much. Staying alone in a room won't help it. Come watch a movie with us."

I sigh, and stand up, looking back at Callie as I follow Mariana out of her room. She's right. Both of us staying alone in a room together wouldn't be a good idea.

"What movie?" I ask, and Mariana shrugs.

"Ask Jesus, he picked. Probably Transformers or something like that."

As I get downstairs, there's a knock on the door. Even though Stef told me to not answer it for anybody, I open it.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask the girl standing in front of me. She clearly didn't expect me to answer the door.

"Who are you?" She shoots back and I just sigh.

"I'm Brandon. I live here."

"Well, I'm Haley, have you se-"

"Oh, you're Jesus' sex buddy. I can't let him see you right now. I shouldn't have even answer for you. So bye." I say quickly, closing the door, but she stops me.

"It's only for a few minutes." She tells me desperately.

I sigh. "Jesus! There's some girl here for you!"

Jesus is already pushing me away from the door, and I just shrug as I sit on the couch, looking over at Jude.

"You alright bud?" I ask, causing him to shrug as he starts the movie.

"I don't like her. Emma is way cooler."

I laugh, shaking my head. "It's your brother. What do you expect?"

"Moms will be mad when they find out about it." Jude says as Callie comes in, her phone in her hand.

"Brandon, Mom just called me and she needs us at the station. Like right now. It's really important." Judging by the look on Callie's face, I know that I don't have a choice but to go.

"Okay, uh, Mariana is in charge then, right?" Callie nods quietly, and I look over at the front door. "Jesus! Get your ass in here!"

Jesus groans, and starts to say something, but I grab his shirt and close the door. "You listen to your sister. I don't care about your sex buddy or whatever she is. Stay inside. Don't answer the door, understand?"

"Jeez, you were cool two minutes ago."

I ignore him as I look over at Callie again, who just shrugs, holding up car keys. "Want to drive?"

"So where the hell do I come in?" I ask Callie, who only sighs.

"I don't know! Ask mom when we get there, Brandon! She only told me that she needed both of us."

"Did somebody get killed or something?"

Callie groans.

"No, I'm serious. Your mom wasn't supposed to go to work today, remember? I mean, it's gotta be something really bad if she has to go today."

"I told you I don't know anything. Just keep driving, okay?"

Giving in, I listen and start driving again. Maybe I did something. And I'm going to get arrested. Which doesn't surprise me, I can see why. I deserve it. When I pull into the parking lot, Stef is already standing there with a man.

"Hey, that's the guy wh-"

"His name is Mike. Just be thankful if he doesn't remember you."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. He probably will."

Callie just rolls her eyes and gets out of the car, and I still don't move. I can tell she sighs, then looks back at me.

"Come on," She tells me, shaking her head, even though there's a small smile on her lips. "He doesn't bite."

"Yeah, instead he arrests people. I'm good." I say, suddenly not wanting to go a foot closer to either one of them.

"Hey, they're not going to arrest you. I won't let that happen, okay? He's like my dad. He'll listen to me."

I sigh, and get out of the car, slamming the door behind me, and I feel like the Mike guy remembered me from the car. Judging by the look on his face at least.

"Brandon, Mike. Mike, Brandon." Stef says quickly when Callie and I reach them. I stand closer to Callie than I should be, but nobody says anything.

"What's so important?" I ask, and Stef just sighs.

"We need you two to keep it way from the rest of the kids, and I hope you're up for sitting in a car again for a while. We need to drive there."

Callie and I look at each other before we follow them to the police car. The last time I was in one, I barely knew Callie and she kissed me.

Mike is staring at me, and I want to make some sort of comment about it, but instead I just slide into the back seat, Callie close behind me. "I think he remembers me." I whisper as he walks around the car.

Callie just sighs. "That's okay, Brandon. It won't matter. He won't do anything if Stef is here."

The ride is quiet, much to quiet for my liking, and I try to think of anything to say, but then the look on his face makes me stop. I don't want to end up in the back of this car handcuffed because of him.

My hopes for that not happening end when I realize what's happening when Stef pulls up to a crime site. Somebody _was_ killed. I probably over did it when I was joking about that.

The worst thing is that I'm at the top of the list for suspects.


	13. Chapter 13

"So, where do I come in?" I ask Stef, ignoring the death look I get from Mike as Callie and Stef sigh in annoyance. Daughter like mom. Even though it's the second time she's explained it, I still have no idea why the hell I am here.

"Maybe you know who it is, Brandon," Stef says, not sounding as annoyed as I thought she would be. She looks at Callie for a few seconds. "And Callie. He's a foster child as much as we know. We just don't know who."

"You want us to look at a dead body?" I ask, not bothering to hide my disgust, crossing my arms over my chest. "Callie and I are sixteen, not crime investigators."

"He was murdered, Brandon," Mike says from his spot a few feet behind Stef, leaning against a tree. "He might not have even been in the system. We just can't figure out who he is."

"Like Callie and I are going to know who he is."

"Look, kid, I don't get what your problem is, okay? I'm just saying that maybe he went to anchor beach. Or maybe you lived with him for a while. Who knows?"

"I want to get out of here." I tell him, the idea making me sick. Not the fact I'll be looking at a dead person, but the possible memories that it could bring. I'd rather try to avoid them as much as I can. It'll just make things easier for me.

"Why you got something to hide?" Mike ask, anger clear on his face as he starts walking towards me quickly.

"W-what? No! I didn't kill anybody!" I say loudly, quickly, looking at Callie, asking her for her help. She knows Mike, and I don't. But right now I can only hope that he's not mad enough to try to do anything. "I woukd never do that!"

"Somebody found his body last night. He was killed two days before. What were you doing wednesday night?"

"I was at home." I answer quickly, and I know that it only gives him more of a reason to think that I'm lying to him. But I'm not a killer. I hurt people, but I don't kill them. At least I don't want to. I don't try to hurt people. It just happens, and I'm always stuck looking at the mess.

"Like I-"

"Mike, leave him alone," Stef says, and I almost sigh in relief. "I know that Brandon was home Wednesday night. Drop it. We agreed to bring them here to see if they know who it is. Not to make Brandon feel like he did anything wrong."

"He did do something wrong, Stef!" He shouts suddenly, causing me to jump. "You didn't have to shove him into the back of your car, did you?"

Stef doesn't answer, and all four of us stand there in silence. Callie's eyes meet mine, and I know she's worried about what Mike will say next, if he does even say anything. Stef just stands there, taking it in. Mike is still staring at me angrily, waiting for me to defend myself.

"I have a good reason to want to go home. I don't need you to breath down my neck like I killed somebody." I mutter, and Mike's next actions are too sudden for me to process.

"Don't at like you didn't do anything wrong," Mike tells me, pushing up against a tree, and I know he wanted to do worse. Maybe hit me, then handcuff me and throw me into the back of his car again. "I don't want to see you go near Callie again. I don't care that you live with them, leave her alone."

"I not going to do anything to Callie," I whisper, carefully thinking about what would anger him. "I don't want to. And I won't."

Mike shoves me towards the body, his anger only growing. "Look at it, kid."

I look back at him, then at Callie. "Doesn't Callie have to look too? What if I don't know who it is?"

Mike doesn't answer, instead he just looks at me, and I sigh, and look at the white sheets a few feet in front of me, knowing exactly what I'll find underneath them. I still don't want to look at it, I don't want Lou to come back and invade my brain with guilt. Not only with her death, but with Callie.

I almost throw up when I see his face. I'm not one of those people who faint at the sight of blood, but looking at him is enough to make me sick, and I look away. "I don't know who that it." I tell Mike quietly, not wanting to be the person to label him.

"You're terrible at lying."

"I uh, he was in my math class," I tell him, getting to my feet, not able to keep my voice from shaking. "His name was John."

Mike gives me a humorless smile. "Took you long enough. Now why don't you have Stef take you home."

I barely hear him as I stumble towards Callie, still in shock. I have always heard about dead people being found here. Overdose. Old Age. Car accident. But nobody being killed.

"B, you okay?" Callie asks, and I feel her hand wrap around my arm, steading me. I shake my head faster then I should.

"No. I- I knew him. H- He was one of my friends," I tell her, looking at her, hating the look of worry on her face. "I stayed at his house with his parents for awhile. I knew him. They... They took me in because she had a miscarriage."

There's another pair of hands on my shoulders, and I know that it's Stef, Mike would never be that gentle. "Brandon, lets get you home, okay?"

That's when I notice that I'm crying. I'm not one hundred percent sure. If I'm crying because what his parents will feel when they find out, or if it's because the realisation has hit me that I'm not the only person who has lost somebody.

Stef opens the car door, and I just sit down, staring at my lap, not bothering to wipe away the tears.

When Stef starts driving, I calm down enough to say something else. "How are you gonna tell them?" I ask miserably, running my fingers through my hair.

"I don't know yet, Brandon. I hate telling people this type of stuff."

"Why him?" I ask, anger creeping into me. "They already lost a child! Why the hell would you even tell them that they lost another one! There's no point! It'd be better if they think he ran away or something!"

I didn't notice that Callie was sitting next to me, and her fingers lace with mine. "Brandon, you don't have to worry about that. It's not your job. Mom is going to drop us off at home, and then she'll worry about telling them, okay?"

"Okay." I say quietly, nodding. I don't want to be there this time. The first time I felt enough guilt. And I didn't even know them that well.

Stef drops us off at the house, and disappears down the street as Callie pulls me into the house, and Jesus, Mariana and Jude are sitting on the couch, explosions coming from the tv.

"Wanna watch a movie with us?" Mariana asks, and I still don't say anything.

"Brandon just had a hard time," Callie says quickly, probably too quickly. "I'm going to take him upstairs." When I don't move, she pushes me towards the stairs gently, and I finally move my feet by myself. One in front of the other.

Callie closes the fire behind us, and pushes me onto her bed, and I don't care about how sudden her movement was. I look up at her, surprised by the look in her eyes. They're still begging me to trust her. But that's the point. I do trust her. I have to show her I do so she stops telling me to trust her.

"I-it reminded me of Lou," I choke out, avoiding her eyes, not wanting to say anymore. First, Sarah is taken back to the Olmesteads, then somebody that I know is dead. And of course it's Lou. "I just wanna go to bed."

Callie doesn't say anything about it being three in the afternoon, she just nods. "Okay. I'm gonna be here when you wake up."

"You don't have to stay in here."

"I'm worried about you. I'm staying in here."

I don't realize how tired I really am until I lay down, and Callie pulls the covers up to my shoulders, and I give her a weak smile. "I know how to cover myself."

"Just go to sleep, Brandon." I hear her mumble as she kisses the top of my head, only causing my smile to widen.

"Thank you, Cals."

* * *

_I'm confused._

_I can't tell if I am awake or if I am asleep. I should be asleep. Lou is dead, I know that. She's gone. But right now she seems so real as I run my fingers through her hair. Something that I always did to calm her down. _

_"Why didn't you help me?" _

_Even though she doesn't say with what, I know exactly what she's talking about why I wasn't there. Victims of sicknesses only last so long. _

_"I- I did, Lou. I... I tried everything that I could. You know that I did."_

_Lou shakes her head, her anger coming back just as fast is it disappeared, and pushes me away from her, her small hands a lot more forceful then they should be. _

_"I was stuck to some bed in a hospital room not able to move, and you were beating up some guy?" Lou demands, her voice growing louder. _

_"He hurt Sarah, Lou. I didn't have a choice." I mumble, looking down at my worn out converse, disappointed in myself. _

_"You knew that I wanted you. Even if I couldn't say it. You went off selling fake I.D's when you knew that I needed you. I couldn't move. Or talk to you."_

_"I wanted the money for you!" I shout, even though I know that none of this is real. That this is just a bad dream and I'll wake up soon. "I wanted to pay for your treatments. I wanted to help! Don't say that I didn't help!" _

_"What if it happened to Sarah? Or Callie?" Lou demands, and I put my hands in my pockets angrily. _

_"They been through enough. I'm sorry that I didn't help you in ti-"_

_"I should call Liam and hear the other side of the story." _

_"Leave Callie the hell out of this."_

* * *

Hands are everywhere. On my chest. My shoulders, my head, her fingers running through my hair. "Brandon. It's okay. You're here."

I sit up suddenly, breathing heavily as Callie leans against the dresser behind her. "How long was I asleep?" I ask, peeling off my shirt which is damp with sweat.

"Not very long. You started to mumble something about Lou," Callie tells me quietly. "And Sarah."

"And you."

"And me. Said something about keeping Liam away from me. And how it's just between you and her."

"Lou and I."

"Wanna talk about it?" Callie asks, sitting on the edge of her bed, and I realizes how much I do want to talk about it.

"She was mad at me. For not helping her," Callie just looks confused, but I know she knows that I'm talking about Lou. But not what I couldn't help her with. "Lou, she... uh, she had ALS. It's a horrible thing to watch. I- I remember being with her the first time it happened. She just collapsed because of her leg."

Callie still doesn't say anything, but her hand finds mine. "You know how it goes. I wasn't there for her. She w- wanted me right before she died."

I just break down, for the second time today. Why Lou? Why couldn't it be me? Or to somebody else that I don't know. I feel bad for wishing that. I deserve everything that has happened to me. I'm not going to say that I don't.

"Come here," Callie whispers, sliding underneath the covers next to me, her arms wrapping around me, and I bury my face into her hair. "It's okay now. You don't have to worry about her any more."

"I should've been there for her! Dammit, Callie, I should've helped her! And Sarah. And you." I mumble, looking at her.

Callie takes my face in her hands, wiping away the tears from my cheeks. "No, not me. You didn't know me when it happened. It's okay. I'm okay now. And so are Sarah and Lou."

"No, I- I need to protect you, Cals. I care about you a lot. I won't be able to live with myself if you got hurt too."


	14. Chapter 14

I don't know how long it takes Callie to respond to me, to what I said. Of course I screw up like that, basically saying that I can't live without her. Smooth move, Brandon

"You don't have to protect me." Callie murmurs, pushing the hair out of my eyes, and I only nod, looking at her.

"Yes I do. You don't realize it but I'm gonna end up hurting you. And I don't want to."

"You're not going to hurt me. Not if you don't want too," Callie says quietly, and I want to believe her. So bad, but if I do, I'll only be lying to myself. I want to tell her that I can't do this, that I can't control anything in my life, and that it'll happen, no matter what. "Because I know you. You don't hurt people, Brandon. You help them."

"I let Liam hurt you."

Callie looks confused, but that's not the truth. I hurt her trying to protect her from him when she followed me that day. I hurt her.

"If he did hurt me I wouldn't be here." Callie murmurs, pressing her hands against my bare chest, as if to prove her point that she's real. That's the problem. She's too real. It just makes me feel like that any second that it'll just go away, because that's the way life is. All of the good stuff leaves.

"I- It would be better if I wasn't here." I tell her, grabbing her hands. I shouldn't be this close to her. I promised Mike that I didn't want to hurt her, and this is the way to do it. To push her away.

"No. It would be better if you stay here. With me. Because I need you."

Suddenly I don't regret telling her that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt, because it's the truth. Most people are scared to say it. I let go of her hands, and they rest on my stomach before she slowly runs them up to my chest, her fingertips leaving trails of fire.

"I like this."

On instinct I open my eyes and look down, only to see her staring at my chest, but I know what she's looking at. My tattoo.

"I don't like it," I grumble as Callie gives me a small smile, her fingers tracing over the rips painted onto my skin. "It was a waste of money."

Callie's fingers still trace over it, and I smile to myself, liking how amazed she seems about it. I forgot that I even had it until today. A few years after my dad died and I was already in the system, I went out. Not sure of where I wanted to go. Or what I was going to do when I got there. But I thinking about my dad, and ten next thing I know is that I'm standing in the middle of a tattoo parlor, asking the man who worked there if he could to mine.

He yelled at me for a few minutes, saying that I had to call him before I came in, and that I was too young. Only fourteen, but I could care less. When I told him this, he just let out a laugh, making some joke about me getting a girl named tattoo.

He seemed even more confused when I said that I wasn't there for one of those, and told him I wanted a flag. "You know? For my dad. I want it to be ripped. He went down with a fight."

The man suddenly face had softened and he nearly shoved me into the chair, asking me where I wanted it.

"Why did you get it?" Callie asks, and I just smile as she looks at me, waiting for an answer.

"That will be a mystery for now. Nobody knows. I plan on keeping it like that." I say, knowing that it'll anger her that I won't tell her, and she frowns, but she's still staring at it, trying to figure out why I would get it.

"Please tell me."

I sigh, giving in to her pleading expression, and I tell myself that it'll be good for me. To tell her about my dad. "I got it for my dad. He was in the army and he died a few years ago. So I got it so I remember him," I let out a small laugh, running my fingers through my hair. "It keeps me going sometimes. That I can be like him. Somebody who saves lives. Not somebody who destroys them."

Callie is quiet, slowly processing all of it, and I just smile to myself. She bites her bottom lip in concentration, and I notice that it's a habit. A cute one.

I wonder what it's like to have somebody fall for you. And I mean really fall for you. Not because they want to get into your pants because they think you're attractive. But for them to be consumed with every little piece about you. The way you talk, the way you laugh, the way you just exist.

Usually this would be a good thing. That person wouldn't know how lucky they are. But if Callie does know that I'm amazed by her, she'd know that she's lucky. Instead she's with some guy who has bad luck following him everywhere he goes.

Callie seems to finally notice that I'm watching her carefully. "What?"

I shake my head. "Nothing. Nothing at all. It's just a tattoo."

"It's more than that." Callie tells me, and it seems like it has more of an impact on her then me. Her hands leave my chest, and I'm already missing the warmth from them.

"I want you to play me." I say before I can even process what I was thinking, or what I wanted to say. Or what I mean by this. Callie just seems even more confused, and even I am.

"What?"

"You know," I say, looking at her guitar in the corner of her room, remembering watching her fingers run along the strings. "The way you play your guitar."

So that's what she does. I rest my head in her lap, and suddenly her fingers are grazing the waistband of my jeans, her fingers slowly tracing the muscles. As close as I was with Lou, I was never this intimate with her. Without helping it, my cheeks heat up.

Callie notices, her fingers still slowly tracing circles as her lips curve into a smirk. She still doesn't say anything, saving me from embarrassment.

"W-what note would that be?" I stutter, only making a fool of myself, doing the complete opposite of what I wanted to do. Act like this wasn't having effect on me.

"W-what? Oh, G." Callie mumbles, finally seeming to notice what we're doing, a blush rising to her cheeks, only making her more attractive as she looks down at me.

"Well," I say, grabbing her hand that has found it's way to my hair, and bring it back down to my stomach, pressing her hand against it. As pathetic as it sounds, I already started to miss the warmth. "What about this one?"

"Uh, A." Callie murmurs, her blush growing.

"And there's six notes, right?" I ask. "What about the other four?"

"I think you know them."

"On piano." I answer simply, shrugging, causing her to wrinkle her nose as she looks down at me, her hair falling to my face. More attractive. Callie in General is an attractive person.

I suddenly want more. More then us fighting and ready to rip each other heads off one minute, and the next so close and intimate with her. Judging by how red her cheeks are, this is her first real time being this intimate with somebody else too. It surprises me that she hasn't been this close to Wyatt.

I want more then us behind a closed door, not even exactly sure of what we are. Maybe it's supposed to be this way. Maybe it's the only way we can be together and be so comfortable around each other.

Then it hits me that Callie might not be as comfortable as I am, or be comfortable at all. I didn't tell her that she has to do this, but she might feel like she has too.

"Do you want to hear the rules?" I murmur, and her eyebrows furrow together, but she doesn't say anything. "The first one is that you can't think too hard about it. The seconds one is that you tell me when you want to stop. The third is to do whatever feels good too you..." I have to stop and think before I come up with a fourth one. "The fourth is th-"

"You shut up and kiss me?" Callie's lips are on mine quickly, moving her mouth against mine softly. I can't help but smile into the kiss as her fingers find my hair. Everything leaves my mind, and I can only think about how lucky I am to have met Callie. Who knows where I'd be without her. I prop myself on my elbows, kissing her again as she starts to pull away.

Callie pulls away again, and this time I let her, feeling the curve of her lips as she does. "I think I can get used to this." She whispers, only causing to smile as I sit up, and face her.

"I don't think I will."

"Good thing or bad thing?" Callie questions, her hands resting on my knees.

"Good," I tell her, giving her a smirk. "I'm bored. What can we do?"

"Homework."

"Homework?" I ask, giving her a frown, only causing her to smile lightly.

"Yes homework. Is that okay with you?"

I just nod, and Callie grabs for her backpack on the floor next to her bed. Needless to say, ten minutes later we're laying on her bed next to each other, our legs tangling together as I watch over her shoulder. She's working on Biology. AP Biology.

"A college class?" I ask, and Callie looks at me.

"Yeah, why?"

"The last school I went to the highest class we were able to take was chemistry."

"Oh," Callie says quietly, turning her attention back to her paper as I still read over her shoulder.

"Bacteria can have sex?" I ask out of the blue.

"What the hell, Brandon?"

"See, right here. Your teacher wrote this?"

"It's a study guide for a test next week."

"Oh."

Callie doesn't answer, and I start to get bored again. It's not like I have any homework to do. Without thinking, I kiss her cheek, causing her to smile. She's still reading her boring paper, and I kiss her jawline. Still looking at the dumb, boring paper. I push her hair to the side, kissing her neck gently, and she stops.

"That tickles." She murmurs.

"You aren't laughing." I say, kissing her neck again. Callie doesn't answer, but I know that she's not looking at her paper anymore. I'm about to kiss her neck again when her fingers find my hair, pulling my face to hers, and she kisses me slowly. And as stupid as it sounds, sparks were flying.


	15. Chapter 15

My life happens to get better in the worst times it can. This time, it's ruined by one thing. School. Callie and I got our a little paradise for two days. Our little weekend consisted mostly me opening up too her. And kissing. Not to mention me having to look at a dead body of a boy I knew. Needless too say, aside from the body, my weekend was good.

School. One simple word makes me remember that all Callie and I is behind a locked door. Never outside of it. It also makeshift remember about the other people we're 'dating'. Tayla seems to forget about the weird drunk talk we had in the bathroom at the party, and Wyatt, well he's become a complete jerk to me since he's dating Callie again.

"Hey man, when's the last time you've seen your sister?"

Anger is boiling through me. Wyatt shouldn't know this. He shouldn't be able to hold it against me. "Fuck off, Mophead." I mutter as I slam my locker shut.

Wyatt just leans against the lockers, a smirk on his face. "Somebody miss their sister? That's what you get for letting her h-"

"You're an ass. Forgetting that Callie went through the same thing as me?" I demand, and his smirk disappears as he swallows. "That's what I thought. Now you can stop talking shit about people. It's useless."

Seeing Wyatt again has ruined my day. Just when it couldn't get worse, I run into Tayla, a huge smile on her face. "Hey, Brandon!"

"Hey." I say simply, running my fingers through my hair, hoping that she doesn't really have anything to say. But she's a girl. A girl that talks a lot.

"My parents are going to be gone again this weekend." She tells me, and I barely hear her as I scan the crowded hallway until my eyes land on Callie. Who's talking to Mariana.

"Cool." I say, answering Tayla knowing that if I didn't, she'll get mad and then I'll have to chase her like a lost puppy.

"I was thinking that we could hang out."

So we can hook up? Nah, I'm good. "Sure. We can watch some movies or something." I say, still looking at Callie, who's now leaning against Wyatt, who somehow magically appeared next to her. I look at Tayla, who's still talking, but I don't hear her. Not that I mind. I would rather know why Callie's laughing.

I want to tell Tayla to stop talking, but I can't bring myself to it, so I just slam my lips onto hers, telling myself to forget about Callie and Wyatt being all couplely in the corner. If Callie can act like I'm not staring at her, then I get to act like don't care about her.

"What was that for?" Tayla asks me as I pull away, ignoring my need to look at Callie.

"Because I like you. Like, really, really like you." I tell her quietly, telling myself that this is better, but I can't help but wish I'm talking to Callie.

"Good." Tayla murmurs, her fingers finding my hair as she kisses me again. As the bell rings, I'm thankful.

"Come on." I murmur, taking her hand as I lead her to math. Which will be the class of pure tourture. Tayla, Wyatt, and Callie in a class together? Joy. Can't wait for a reason to end up in the office talking to Lena explaining that I got jealous of my foster sister boyfriend. That'll be a lot of fun.

The bell rings, and our teacher wastes no time. "Okay, you guys have new groups. Four people at each table."

He marks off kids as he tells them to sit, and I'm standing there like an moron, praying that in the last two empty tables, I'll be separated from Callie. I could care less that Wyatt and Tayla are stuck with each other. All I know is that I can not be sitting at the same table as Callie.

"Brandon, Matt, Callie and Beth."

I slide into one of the chairs, knowing that there is no way out of this one, just like the sleeping arrangements, but tonight I plan on sleeping on the floor again, it being one of the only ways I can limit things happening between us.

Callie sits across from me, and I can't tell but judging by the look on her face, she hates this just as much as I do. Maybe not for the same reasons, but both us aren't going to last a full day without arguing in this class. I stare at her blankly, wanting to say something but not able to find the words.

"They'll be your group members the rest of the quarter." Our teacher says before he sits down, probably expecting us to start the warm up. I sigh as I look at the problems. I already have enough to worry about, and here I am trying to solve some dumb math problems with Callie staring at me.

If it were up to me, I'd be able to stand up and say fuck the foster system, it shouldn't matter who I be with. It already takes enough stuff away from us so it can give us the 'good'. Which just turns out to be a bunch of bullshit. For me anyways.  
Instead I just sit in my seat, staring at Callie, not caring if anybody else notices.

* * *

When I see the blonde hair, at first I thought it would be Stef, which is impossible because she's at work. I still had my hopes up. Then There's Lena asking him if he wants anything to eat and yelling for me and the twins. I sit down next to Jesus, knowing that he'll be too busy eating his food to want to talk to me. Wyatt clearly has other plans when I see the smirk on his face when I make the mistake of looking at him and Callie.

"How've you been, Bro?" He asks me like there is nothing wrong, and for him, nothing is. I still have to deal with him and wonder when Sarah is coming home.

"I'm not your bro." I grumble, playing with the green beans on my plate as his smirk disappears and he realizes that I'm not joking around with him anymore.

"Sorry. How are you, sir?" Wyatt asks me in an overly fake British accent, and I stop myself for wanting to hit him in the face.

I answer his question, ignoring the looks I get from Lena and Callie. "Great. Only if you'd leave. How are you? Still getting ready to slam me into some more lockers tomorrow?"

Callie stares at me, her mouth hang open slightly in shock, and I just turn my attention back to my green beans, and Wyatt doesn't say anything either, trying to contain his anger.

Even Lena doesn't say anything, and I'm thankful. She usually has something to say, but right now she doesn't. Jesus and Mariana don't seem to care, still eating their food quietly.

After dinner I decide to play video games with Jude, awarding myself with a smile from him, the first one I got from him in a long time when I ask him.

"Okay." Jude says happily as he turns on the tv screen, and I'm surprised by the sudden sound of explosions and guns. A sweet kid like Jude playing such a violent game? I couldn't see it.

Half way through our third game, his score tripled mine, I pause it, not able to stand seeing the fake blood splattered onto the screen when I die. "Why do you play this?" I ask, and Jude is quiet for a while before he just shrugs.

"Come on, bud. I know that you aren't really into this. I think you're just a grossed out as I am."

"I don't know. Jesus likes this game. He thinks the other ones are boring, so I always end up playing this with him."

"Is this Call of Duty or whatever it's called?" I ask him and Jude just gives me a small smile.

"Something like that."

"Well guess what. I see a whole stack of other video games that I'll play with you. Pick your favorite one and next time Jesus plays with you, tell him that he has to play whatever you want to."

Jude looks quickly through the stack before he changes the game, and Mario pops into the screen in a kart.

"Mario kart?" I ask, not being able to stop my laugh. "This used to be the only game I played."

After a hour of playing Mario Kart with Jude, Mariana comes into the room and sits on the couch next to me. After neither of us say anything, and I keep my attention on the TV until Callie comes into the room, Wyatt close behind her, a smirk on his face, and I grip the controller much tighter than I need to as they go upstairs, Callie laughing at something he said.

Jude notices, and all three of us just sit on the couch, staring at the stairs for a while until Jude starts the game again, still not saying anything, and I decide to take my anger out on the game.

"Glad I came downstairs." Mariana says, watching Jude and I play.

"Does that always happen?" I ask through gritted teeth. "Them going to her room?"

"Please. That's the first time I've seen her let him in her room, and judging by the look on his face, they aren't coming down anytime soon."

"Oh." I say simply, trying to contain my anger. It's not like Callie and I were even dating. But I still can't help but wish I was the one with her instead of Wyatt.  
Mariana doesn't say anything for a few minutes when Jude wins again, and I sigh. "One more?" I ask him, knowing that I'll lose again, but I don't care. Jude is a cool kid.

Jude starts the game again as Mariana watches me. "I wouldn't get too jealous," She tells me as she starts looking at her phone. "Callie does like you if that's what you're worried about."

"Then explain to me why she's in her room with Wyatt. _Alone_."

"Because you're her foster brother," Mariana says, shrugging. "If she's back with Wyatt, she obviously cares about you enough to not get you kicked out."

I don't answer as Jesus comes down, his skateboard in his hand. "I wouldn't go up there for a while. They're terrible at being quiet. Lucky that moms aren't home right now." He's out the door.

* * *

We have just decided to watch I am legend when Wyatt storms down the stairs, his face red with anger as he looks at me. "What the hell did you do with Callie?" He demands, standing in front of me as I just look at him.

"I didn't do anything."

"Are you sure? Because she won't let me do anything."

"That's not my fault is it?"

He's about to say something, but Mariana beats him to it. "Go away, Wyatt. It's not his fault if Callie doesn't trust you." If possible, his face gets redder before he walks out the front door, slamming it behind him.

Stef and Lena come home a few minutes after Wyatt leaves, and looks at us. "It's getting late," Stef tells us, and we all groan. "Why don't you go to bed?"

Callie is still wake when I get into her room, still reading the same book. Without a word, I grab the pillow next to her and a extra blanket out of her closet, not caring that she's watching me closely.

"What are you doing?" Callie finally asks, me as I get on the floor, pulling the blanket up to my shoulders.

"Sleeping." I grumble, not able to get the image of her and Wyatt being together earlier out of my head. It just had to be Wyatt. Why not anybody else? Then it wouldn't bother me as much. But an asshole like Wyatt?

"You okay?" Callie asks, worry laced in her words, and I roll my eyes. Like she actually cares.

"Fine."

"Brandon... I just wanted you to know that Wyatt and I got back together before everything happened."

"Then why'd you spend time with me over him?" I demand, running my fingers through my hair. "Then shove your tongue down his throat."

"I wasn't trying to make you mad or anything, Brandon."

"Didn't seem like that when you were dragging him up here earlier."

"I- we... We didn't have sex."

"And you're telling me this because?"

"I- uh, I don't know." Callie stutters, and I know that she's lying.

"Yes, you do."

"Because I trust you more then I trust him."


	16. Chapter 16

"Don't say that," I murmur, running my fingers through my hair as I stare at the ceiling. She can't trust me more. I'm not a type of person you can trust. But I explained to Callie so many times. "You know that you can't."

"But I do. I-I don't know why, but I do. There's just something different about you."

I don't answer her. It's completely useless trying to talk to her, to tell her the truth. She just has to be so fucking stubborn. She doesn't say anything else, and I hate how quiet it is, and I run my fingers through my hair. "Wyatt, he's a lot better for you than I am."

This time, Callie doesn't say anything, and I don't need her to say anything. I just need her to hear the truth. No matter how much I hate him, he'll always be better for her than I am. I should go to sleep, it's late, but I can't bring myself to do that. Instead I just lay on the floor, listening to Callie's breathing, and eventually she does fall asleep. What if things were different? I probably wouldn't be sleeping on her floor or in her bed, that's for sure. I'd probably still be with Lou.

Lou.

It seems like I knew her ages ago, and I feel like I didn't really know her. She's not like Callie. Callie likes to hide what she's feeling sometimes, but I still feel like I know her better. But that's who Lou was. She made you confused about her. Confused about you.

But then there's Callie and she makes me feel like I'm a good person. I need to get out of here, get some air. I grab a sweatshirt and my sneakers, not caring if I wake up Callie or not. I plan on coming back. Everybody else is asleep, and I go out the back door.

My phone lights up, and I look at it. Vico. "Hey, man." I say, making sure that their fence is closed.

"Sup, Dude," Vico says, sounding happy with himself, and I sigh. He's always doing something. "Guess what? We have more customers. We're back in business."

"Where are you?" I ask him, looking at the empty street. Who knows what other people are doing. "I just got out of the house."

"I'm at your school. Anchor beach, right?"

Fuck. I'm going to be screwed. "What the hell are you doing there?" I growl, anger coming back. I need to hit something.

"I need a place to print the ID's, B. You know this place, you can help."

"Fuck it, Vico. Forget about the ID's. They aren't worth the trouble. I'm not helping you anymore." I tell him, my urge to hit something still here, and I plan on making it his face the next time I see him.

"You're no fun," Vico grumbles, and I know that he's not going to stop bothering me until he gets the ID's. "What happened to the old Brandon? I'll just have to break a window."

"Have fun with that."

"Dude! Come on, I need you to pick the lock!"

"I'm not helping you." I say simply, but I'm already moving towards the school. If he does break a window, I'll be the one who gets blamed for it. That's how it always works out. Vico does something stupid, and I get in trouble for it.

"Don't you need the money?"

I do need the money. To get away from my mother. To forget about everything.

I don't need the money. I have Stef and Lena now, I don't need to forget anything. I can't leave Callie.

"No, man. Not anymore." I finally say, tired of the full on war in my head, debating if I would ever go see my mom again who turned into a drug addict when my dad died. Like the twins. I have a useless mom. One that just causes more problems.

"Aw, man are you seriously falling for all of that family shit?" Vico asks, and I wish I was actually with him already and be able to punch him.

"They actually like me," I murmur, running my fingers through my hair, knowing how stupid I sound to him. "This is the first time in years. And Sarah li-"

"I bet she'd like it a lot more if you were actually away from your mom. Besides, what would you do if I told that I'm making one for Callie?"

Callie.

Why the hell would she want one? Or need that on for that matter. I decide that he's just trying to annoy me.

"I'm almost to the school." I tell him, changing the topic. Hit to low. He can probably tell that he went to far, because he doesn't say anything back, and I just hang up on him, wanting to throw my phone away and run, not caring about where I'm going. But I'm stuck here. In San Diego with every other family I know hating me. Callie probably hates me too now, and she'll probably wake up before I get back.

I wasn't lying when I told Vico I ead almost to school. It peaks into my sight, and I sigh. One day I was in juvie, and the next I was in a school on the beach. I still won't be used to it.

"Hey! You're actually here!" Vico says loudly, and I'm so close to yelling at him. For being such an idiot, for ruining. When Stef and Lena find out about this I'll be killed and won't get adopted or Sarah.

"About to leave if you don't shut the fuck up."

Vico grumbles something before he looks at the ground, waiting for me to do what I usually do. Unlock the doors. Take the fall for him. "Do it yourself, dammit. I won't be able to get out of the house whenever you want me to."

Vico seems to be surprised that my anger is directed towards him, and he looks at me for a few seconds before he starts picking at the lock with God knows what. I usually use a paper clip. It works a lot better than people think. I could leave him now, and go back home, and let somebody catch him and he can take the fall for himself, but instead I just stand there impatiently, waiting for what seems hours.

Eventually, he gets it and I push past him the moment he unlocks the door, already walking towards the printer office. "If you touch anything that's not a printer, I'll make sure you pay."

Vico lets out a small laugh. "Dude, I won't. Don't trust me anymore?"

"Never did." I grumble as he goes into the office, running my fingers through my hair. There's a sound of a door closing, and I know it's not him. There's no way. The click of heels is on the floor, and I panic. "Vico!" I whisper roughly, throwing the door open. "Someone is in here! We need to get out, like right now!"

"Fuck, are you positive?"

"You think I'm lying?" I demand, unplugging the printer, turning off the light. "Shut the fuck up and forget about the I-"

"I hear her," Vico says, shoving his hands into my chest. "You shut up!"

For once, I agree with him and I close the door as quietly as I can, and I'm lucky that it doesn't squeak.

"You think she's gonna check the room?"

"Doubt it," I say quietly, biting my lip. Truth is, this is probably the only place whoever is in the school going to. "Just seeing if the doors locked. She won't come in."

Just as I finish, the knob starts to turn, and Vico and I are just sitting here like it's some sort of horror movie. The door does open, and I can hear he fumbling for the light switch. Before I can stop him, Vico is pushing her out of the way, and I'm already running down the hallway, about to yell at him, but that'll give us away. The door we came in through is still wide open, and I make sure that it's locked before we actually leave.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I demand, shoving him against the wall. "Doing that? I'm going to get in so much trouble!"

"You're always the one who gets in trouble!"

"Yeah, and I'm tired of getting blamed for your bullshit! You can find a different place to print them. I'm done with this. All of it!"

Vico grabs my arm, and I push him off of me. "No. I'm being serious. I am done with you. Buy all of them back and leave me alone."

When I get back to the house, I'm covered in sweat. I peel off my shirt and close the door behind me as quietly as I can, but I should've figured that Callie would be awake. I jump when she talks, her voice quiet. "Where'd you go?"

"Damn, Callie you scared me."

"Where were you?" Callie asks again, and I sigh.

"I was with Vico. To tell him that I'm done working with him," I tell her, putting on a clean shirt. "I promise. You don't have to worry about anything."

"I always worry about you."

"Because?" I ask, laying back down on the floor. She doesn't need to worry about me at all. I should be the one worrying about her.

"You're going to get hurt," Callie says simply, and when I don't respond, she goes on. "None of us want to see you get hurt."

"Did you ask him for one?" I blurt, running my fingers through my hair. "You know, an ID?"

Callie doesn't answer.

"God, Callie. You should've known better than to mess with him!"

"I wasn't messing with him, Brandon. I was just trying to get him to leave you alone. And leave me alone."

"If he wasn't leaving you alone, you could've came to me! I would've made him stop!"

"Why does it matter so much?" Callie asks, suddenly quiet again.

"Because I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt. Not by somebody I know, that's for sure."

"Y-you just care so much about me! You know, I can care and worry about you too. There's nothing wrong with that!" Callie says, and I'm quiet. She's right. It's not a crime if she cares about me. Not in her world. But in mine it'll just hurt her, like Vico... and there's Liam, who both of us know that he wouldn't wait a second to hurt either one of us if he had the choice. Even without me, there's already enough things out there that can hurt her.


End file.
